Stanislav and The Lion - 2024 - Robota
(49:22; Melodic Revolution Records)
Here we have the second album from the duo of Corey Stano (author, vocals) and Juan R Leõn (all music), following from last year’s excellent debut, ‘Myths Retold & Other Lies To Tell Your Children’. When I reviewed that release, I mentioned Hibernal, as Mark R. Healy have been undertaking similar works for more than a decade now, but the major difference between the two is Mark always brings in professional voice actors to take on the roles, where here Corey speaks her own words. That aside, we are in a futuristic world of robots, and one that is becoming sentient as it has started dreaming (perhaps of electric sheep?). What makes this album work so incredibly well is that it is an amalgam of two very different styles, namely the spoken word, which is often in the first person of 5-E, and soundscapes of music. Each of these could stand on their own (and there is a version of this album available which contains demos, unused and unfinished tracks and no words), but it is when the two are combined that it really comes to life. Corey and Leon discussed the storyline, and both started work independently, with Juan then reworking the music when he received Corey’s prose to ensure they were tightly aligned. This is a film for the ears, much cheaper than shooting the real thing when we can use our imagination to fill in the gaps. Juan states he was inspired “by the Prose of Corey Stano, the Spirit of Vangelis, and the Soul of Jarre” which is obviously a truism as one can easily hear all of that in the music underpinning the story.
It is an album which must be played on headphones when one truly has the time to listen and pay attention to both the story and the music, to be taken on a journey where nothing else matters apart from the story of a future where human hubris has destroyed all green and living things, something which seems to be getting closer every passing day. This is an album for those who want something different from an audio book but enjoys science fiction and wants to be taken to a place where imagination is encouraged, and the music engages us on a different level.
Kev Rowland, December 2024
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