Customer Reviews

I Move

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's a shame that more people don't know about this band. IZZ has elements of Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Marillion in their music, and the way they combine prog and pop is somewhat similar to Spock's Beard. Despite wearing their influences on their sleeves at times, they have their own unique style and manage to sound retro and modern at the same time. The band is made up of five excellent musicians, and I am especially impressed with the versatile and tasteful guitarist Paul Bremner.

The variety on this disc is impressive. The songs range from raucous instrumentals ("Star Evil Gnoma Su") to moving and beautiful ballads ("Light From Your Eyes"). Much of the music is packed with great instrumental and vocal hooks, like the title track, "Oh, How it's Great!" and "Weak Little Lad." The sweeping "Knight of Nights" is the most Yessy song on the CD. The best track on the album is the epic "Coming Like Light," which seamlessly moves through different moods, from a frantic modern King Crimson-esque middle section to the hypnotic mantra-like vocals of the dramatic finale. The album even contains a rousing Celtic rock track, "The Mists of Dalriada."

Fans of complex prog and catchy pop alike can find something to enjoy on this album. The melodies throughout are very memorable and every song has something interesting to offer.

The title of this review says it all...influences heard include the long gone Canadian prog outfit, FM; prog pioneers, ELP, Yes and King Crimson; Genesis' only great guitarist, Steve Hackett; a bit of the Celtic-Rock band, Wolfstone; a tad of Spock's Beard or the late, great Kevin Gilbert. They even cleverly incorporate "hip-hop" type beats on some cuts yet they still are decidely progressive in nature.

Izz has this irristible sound that one cannot stop listening to. This is a concept album that needs to be heard in its entirety to be fully appreciated but most tracks can stand on their own.

Highlights include the spiraling hip-hop influenced "Spinnin' Round" (great opener), the alternative rock, schizophrenically-intense "I Move" (nice acoustic guitar riff with electric guitar overlay - addicting), the space-psychedelic influenced "I Already Know" (guitar works), the urgency of "I Wanna Win" (great bass here!), "Believe", Prog-pop but nicely done (nice harmony vocals, a nod to Laura Meade), the Wolfstone-like "The Mists of Dalriada" (great Celtic-rock sound - love it, makes me wish Izz would consider a Celtic themed album in the future), "Oh, How It's Great" (could have been off FM's "Black Noise" - minus the violin - excellent guitar, bass and keyboard counterpoint), the very proggy "Coming Like Light" (at just over 11 minutes in length it is an excellent blend of all things that make prog music great) and "Light From Your Eyes" (John Wetton-ish ballad, executed with nice melodic electric guitar ending - maybe slightly understated to end such a great effort by this band.

Highly recommended for those adventurous souls who enjoy the prog of old but with a very new TwIZZst! I bet you can't spin it just once. `

Few CDs are worth more than 5 stars, but "I Move" does. If you're into music from bands like Porcupine Tree, Spock's Beard, Enchant or Transatlantic, then this one's for you.

Every song leaves you looking forward the next. From hard charging to melodic, "I Move" has it all. Few CDs can be replayed over and over without quickly burning you out, but Izz does just the opposite. You finish listening to it and want to play it again.

BUY THIS CD NOW!

The Galgano brothers (vocals, synths and guitar) created here a very enjoyable record. Vocals are very close to the great american prog singers : Neal Morse or Kevin Gilbert. This album deals with both programmed rythms (close to what is heard in 'trip hop') and more conventional acoustic drums. The opening track is a tune with a 'hip hop'-like beat. Believe me, this is a great track. Track 2 is a pop-prog tune, with great drums, followed by fantastic keys à la Emerson. Track 3 is in the same vein as track 1. It is followed by a space-rock tune à la Pink Floyd. 'I wanna win' is a hybrid that begins as a 'trip-hop' tune and ends as a prog tune. 'Something true' is an acoustic track. Then you have instrumentals like 'star evil gnoma su' or 'the mists of Dalriada'. 'Another door' and 'Believe' are both great pop-prog tunes. 'Coming like light' is a fantastic tune. It begins with a jazzy rhythm, and is followed by a bridge in the style of King Crimson's 'the konstrukction of light'. This track returns then to a lighter atmosphere with a subtle piano and a final with virtuosic guitar and a splendid choir. 'Light from your eyes' is a beautiful balad. All in all, this record has strong moments and shows that prog can sound great when blended with elements of current pop. Highly recommended to lovers of prog with a taste of pop.

IZZ is a wonderful band to discover: all the intelligence and sophistication of the great 70s progressive rock bands, but with a street-smart 21st century edge.

"I Move" has hints of the best moments of Genesis' "Duke" album, but has a smart, modern sound all its own.

Whereas so much of prog rock is mired in retro dungeons-and-dragons cliches, IZZ is progressive rock that is truly progressive. Highly recommended.

Finally, something worth the price of admission!

Great follow up to Sliver of a Sun.
To me, kind of OK Computer meets Thrak.
The songs each work well on their own but,
snce there seems to be a linear story line to the album,
it's best experienced in one sitting.
(Better yet with the lights off with headphones.)

As much as I liked their first CD,
this album is a great evolution in terms
of both songwriting and production.
Repeated listens yield wonderful ear candy
throughout the album. The songs range from the
techno inspired Spinnin' Round, to the Celtic influences
of Mists of Dalriada to the etheral beauty of
Light From Your Eyes. I'm guessing the single
will be "Believe". Catchy, gorgeous, infectious melodies.

What's refreshing is their abilty to showcase their
technical virtuosity without displacing the integrity
of the songs. (Dream Theater, take notes)

The current Prog landscape is full of variety. Prog Fusion, Prog Death Metal, Prog Opera. etc, inhabit the field. Admittedly, I seek songwriting and MELODY. I Move by IZZ is a stellar example. Influences by Yes, ELP, and the occasional King Crimson flourish are apparent. The most obvious is Genesis. With this considered, IZZ never forgets the underlying hooks. This is the element that allows me to keep returning to this album for continual rewards. There is a warmth here that allows me to return to I Move over and over. Highest recommendations are given to this melodic Prog gem.

Several positive points to make about this CD first.

1) Excellent production. Lots of time and care put into the recording, mixing, and mastering. Despite a fairly varying range in styles (80's-style ballad pop to classic prog to jazz-tinged prog-ish pop rock), this entire CD still sounds like a coherent, related effort.

2) Musicianship. As demonstrated by their easily switching between styles, these guys are comfortable exercising their chops. That said, they exercise plenty of restraint as well...they know when to pull back if the song doesn't need it. Paul Bremner (the guitarist) is nothing short of incredible. I learned a long time ago watching awesome musicians in Austin, Tx, that talent unfortunately doesn't guarantee success. Otherwise Paul Bremner would have sponsorship deals out the wazoo, cover shots on "Guitar Magazine" and Roine Stolt (Flower Kings) would be asking HIM for lessons. The guy is tasteful, restrained, wild, technical, and spot on, exactly when he needs to be. And fortunately the rest of the band keeps up pretty well, writing complicated but catchy tunes, and executing them skillfully. The vocals and lyrics are definitely better than average (better than Spock's Beard--old or new--and most of the Flower Kings). Multiple folks in the band handle lead vocals, and weirdly enough the main guy sounds a LOT like one of the vocalists from the Squeeze (Tilbrook I think)

Only negatives I might give these guys: the music really is all over the map. Everything thing from passages that sound like classic symph-prog (ELP), 80's synth pop, RnB-tainted light jazzy pop, and lots of other stuff. It's almost like they incorporated EVERYthing from their influences and every cover band they were in over the last 15 years into a CD's worth of tunes. But, again, that's not a show stopper because they do it so well, and it really does seem like it's all from the same CD and band. Second detractor is there are some tunes and elements on this that are a little too much in the 80's pop rock vein. The one thing that helps me get past that is they're still extremely well-written songs, and not enough to distract from an overall 5-star rating.

If you're a classic prog fan, you'll find nuggets in here you'll definitely like. If you're open to more pop-rock elements mixed with your prog, you'll like the whole disk even more.

I think they're on a roll now. The first album was fantastic, and this one is even better... somehow more coherent without sacrificing variety of style, which ranges from Crimsonesque avant-garde instrumental to Celtic to electronic-dance-pop kind of thing. All over the map, but still essentially Izz.

I like a lot of music that I don't expect other people to like, but once in a while I have to wonder about a particular album: why doesn't everybody know and love this? This is one of those cases.

The sophomore release from the east coast based band IZZ would find the band writing and performing better than on the debut. Like the first one the album is a bit schizophrenic in it's approach as the music ranges all over the map. Progressive Rock, Pop, Space Rock, Ballads, Celtic, Metal, and even a little Hip Hop are all thrown into the mix and for the most part it works. One of the things that I like about Izz is their ability to take the classic progressive rock sound and incorporate modern elements that make everything sound contemporary. A good example of this is the album opener "Spinnin Round". The song features a hip hop beat over a pop / prog musical tableau that I could see being popular on the radio if ever given a chance. Prog purists might turn their nose up at this kind of thing, but IZZ do it so well, that it works as a great opener for the album. Other highlights include the title track "I Move", the instrumental "Star Evil Gnoma Su", "Another Door", the Celtic "Mists Of Dalriada", and "Oh How It's Great". The long prog epic on the album is the 11 minute plus "Coming Like Light" which finds the band in great form. My one and only criticisms with IZZ, is the fact that they have two excellent female vocalists who the band mostly relegates to the background. The Galgano brothers both have good voices, but the girls (especially Laura Meade) are better and in my opinion are not used enough. Other than that I love this album and think that IZZ is certainly a band to check out if you are into progressive rock.