Closure In Moscow - 2023 - Soft Hell [mini-review]

(50:24; Bird's Robe Records)



















Australian band Closure In Moscow are out with the album "Soft Hell", and for my sake I find progressive rock to be the best description to give the landscapes explored on this production. As one of many that probably doesn't really constitute a good fit. The majority of the songs here comes across as an amalgam of many different elements tossed together in unusual and unexpected manners, with twists and turns in pace, intensity and energy being the norm rather than the exception. The quirky guitar details from the alternative side of hard progressive rock exist side by side with the soul-filled instrument and vocal details artists like Prince made a career out of. The lead and vocal harmonies many of the so-called boybands had a tendency to explore coexist nicely with retro big riffs Led Zeppelin style. A tad of reggae comes here, some disco style vocal details there, and a solid nod towards industrial music and the inclusion of electropop and electrorock and possibly also post-rock are all passengers on this particular train. Most of the time with these and many other details too wrapped up in and around a bit of a pop music sensibility. This is, by and large, catchy music that comes with a radio friendly character, while also being able to be creative, expressive and fairly challenging too. A production to seek out by those who enjoy music created with a strong emphasis on rock as a progressive ideal rather than progressive rock created by way of convention and tradition.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, November 2023

Links:
https://www.closureinmoscow.com/
https://www.birdsrobe.com/

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