Dazed #14: Fractal Mirror, Dave Kerzner, Simon Collins

I gave praise to Schizoid Lloyd in a previous posting and now I have to give big thumbs up to another Dutch act, one very different from Lloyd's xtreme prog metal. Fractal Mirror's debut caused next to no stir (and rightly so) a few years ago, but their 2014 release, Garden of Ghosts, is as if another band had made it.

Crossover prog is not as simple an art as one would think. Combining prog's ambitions with pop hooks and choruses more often than not leads to bland FM mediocrity - there's a reason why an It Bites has little competition in the genre. On Garden of Ghosts, Fractal Mirror have reached a point of perfect balance between mostly melancholy pop and truly grand, at times downright majestic/visionary melodic prog - see if you can hear the opening track without taking the wistful chorus with you. There's no displays of technical overkill here; instead the focus is on excellent songs and their meticulous execution. The recording budget was probably on the leaner side, but every cent has been used wisely (and if I've understood correctly, Echolyn's Brett Kull helped out with the production). In its genre, this is nearly transcendent and much recommended.

My rating: 4,5 / 5

Frequent collaborator with a number of prog artists (Sound Of Contact most recently), Dave Kerzner's solo debut New World has probably been the talk of the prog community in the winter of 2014-15. And why not: Dave is a visible figure in the American prog scene and the list of people he has previously worked with and those who have worked with him on this album is amazing.

I find New World very entertaining and... well, nice. It's a skilled display of musical capabilities from a guy who's been around the scene long enough to know the only way to approach your solo effort is just to play what you really like. Unlike some other proggers, I don't find the album revelatory or "wow!" in any way. What I hear is music made in good spirits, with its classic prog influences shining proudly through (the blatantly pinkfloydish opening of the album is actually refreshingly honest in its tribute) and the positive atmosphere is catching; it's the kind of album I like to put on when brewing coffee on unhurried Saturday mornings. And that's a compliment, mind you :)

My rating: 4 / 5

As I checked out Dave Kernzer's earlier feats, I learned he and Simon Collins had collaborated already in 2008, way before Sound Of Contact, on Simon's solo album U Catastrophe. Let me just note that this is a well serviceable dish of modern prog-tinged rock. I especially appreciate young Simon's willingness not to follow daddy's mannerisms in either singing or drumming (well there's one drum-driven track that's all about the Phil Drum Sound, but we'll allow that). Dynamic, self-assured, not terribly original but great music for driving and home repairs. Hey, you need that once in a while, too!

My rating: 3,5 / 5