Pledge Of Healing - 2023 - One Step Closer

(53:29; Pledge of Healing)






















This is the debut album by French duo Cyril Delvallez (guitars, keyboards, programming, bass, vocals) and Claire Sergue (vocals) who were assisted by some guests in the form of David Hazak (bass), Alex Soubry (guitars), Cedric Argoff (guitars) and Laurent Leyder (bass), and they have combined to produce an album which is both atmospheric and, at times, incredibly powerful, always designed to show off the vocals of Claire. This is progressive rock music as a genre, as opposed to an ideal, which also brings in elements of symphonic rock, theatricality and New Age to create something which is very interesting indeed and there are times where it sounds as if they have been heavily influenced by Evanescence. The drum programming is not intrusive, and while fairly basic it does fit in well, while there are passages where there is no drumming at all, and Cyril happily switches between rock guitar and more ambient styles, piano and keyboards, all of which is designed to provide the right platform for Claire.

It is a very modern sounding release, which is also quite commercial in its approach, which means it is incredibly easy to listen to on the first time of playing, yet there is enough within the arrangements to keep the listener coming back for more, while Claire’s clear unaccented English vocals are wonderful throughout. She can seem quite twee at times, then at others she is an out and out belter, with a production which is both smooth and quite open. There is not much space within the album, with the accompaniment coming through almost as a solid entity with Claire then placing her vocals on top, but the result is something which is enjoyable, nonetheless. I am also impressed that they have made this a physical release as opposed to just digital, not something which that many new bands do these days, and even more impressed that they deemed it suitable to send one all the way to New Zealand to ask for my opinion. This is a nice album, fresh and full of ideas which are often based in the atmospheric area of prog and is something which is worthy of investigation.

Kev Rowland, September 2023

Links:
https://pledgeofhealing.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thirteen of Everything - 2023 - Time and Other Delusions

Image
(68:22; Basement Avatar Records) Track list: 1. Timeline 8:57 2. Alternate Life 12:02 3. Where the Time Goes 5:32 4. The Penultimate Flight of Armando the Pigeon 7:11 5. The King of Istanbul 10:35 6. Warmth and Darkness 7:32 7. Count All the Days 16.33 Line-up: Brett Cosby - guitars Mick Peters - Chapman stick, bass, pedals, vocals Ted Thomas - drums, percussion, vocals Bob Villwock - keyboards with: Thad Miller - keyboards Prolusion. US band Thirteen of Everything has been a going concern for a bit over 20 years, releasing their initial demo back in 2002 with official albums following in 2005 and 2019 respectively. Following what has been a brief pause between albums for this band they are now preparing to launch their third studio album "Time and Other Delusions", which will be released on US label Basement Avatar Records. Analysis. In terms of the different variations one can find in the progressive rock universe, Thirteen of Everything resides safely inside the symphonic ...
Read more

Deaton Lemay Project - 2022 - The Fifth Element

Image
(63:04; Deaton Lemay Project) Track list: 1. The Great Awakening 5:32 2. A Different Place in Time 7:24 3. Dragonfly 3:35 4. The Nightmare 4:28 5. Exordium 6:24 - Elements of Life Suite 6. Overture 4:43 7. Fire 6:10 8. Water 6:11 9. Air 4:19 10. Earth 6:53 11. Music 7:25 Line-up: Roby Deaton - keyboards, guitars, vocals Craig LeMay - drums, percussion with: Hadi Kiani - vocals Ehsan Imani - guitars Josh Mark Raj - guitars John Haddad - bass Charles Berthoud - bass Liza Evans - violin Prolusion. US band DEATON LEMAY PROJECT started out officially back in 2018, following a 25 year long period of gestation. They released their debut album "Day After Yesterday" in 2019, and following what I suspect has been a rather busy planning and recording period during the years of the pandemic the creative twosome of Deaton and Lemay are back with their second album "The Fifth Element" at the start of 2022. Analysis. While the fifth element apparently used to be defined as aether ...
Read more

Jay Graboski - 2023 - Authentic Fake

Image
(77:11; Oho Music) Track list: 1. In Dotage 3:55 2. Season of Extremes 3:54 3. 28721 3:38 4. Dot on Your Door 4:55 5. Die Before You Die 4:00 6. Hidden Agenda 4:43 7. Out on a Limb 3:58 8. Mired in Malaise? 3:00 9. Cosmos of the Soul 3:51 10. The Hours 5:32 11. Frog Legs 2:41 12. Metaphors 3:28 13. The Witness Watchers 3:41 14. Authentic Fake 3:05 15. Your Luck is Awake 4:43 16. The Crown 3:51 17. The Doomed Princess 4:01 18. St. Judas 4:12 19. Where Words Do Not Reach 3:28 20. Well, I'll Be 2:35 Line-up: Jay Graboski - vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, glockenspiel with: Dale German - guitars Ray Jozwiak - accordion, keyboards, bass, Moog Dave Kelly - guitars, programming, keyboards, percussion Julie Keough - backing vocals Harry Maben - drums Patrick McAvinue - fiddle Gene Meros - saxophones Bill Phelan - backing vocals, guitars, mandolin, recorder Bill Pratt - keyboards, backing vocals, horn arrangements David Reeve - drums, percussion, keyboards Gyro J. Scope - sequencing Prol...
Read more