Customer Reviews

Spaced Out

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

 

 

This is the Montreal-based Spaced Out's debut album, and the only one you'll probably need.

The leader of the group is the bass player Antoine Fafard, and he impresses right off the bat with "Green Teeth" where he sounds an awful lot like Uzeb's Alain Caron (and that's a BIG compliment!). In fact, I like the sound of the whole band through the first seven tracks, displaying fine chops all around and real tight playing, even if the pieces lack for melody at times. But this is jazz/rock fusion after all, with more emphasis on jazz than rock; so no points really taken off for the lack of hooks or melody.

But...they all start to sort of sound the same halfway through this cd. My opinion is that Fafard (who wrote all the music) started to run out of original ideas after a while. Even some of his impressive bass licks get repeated in later songs.

It's hard to tell how good the keyboard player Eric St-Jean is on this cd, since Fafard fills in a lot with what they refer to in the liner notes as "programmming". Martin Maheux plays some great drums throughout the cd. There are two guitarists, Mathieu Bouchard (on most tracks) and Louis Cote (on only two tracks). I particularly like Bouchard's playing, reminiscent of the Allan Holdsworth sound (if not as fast or inventive as the master).

So, the cd starts off strong, holds my attention through seven tracks, and even has a decent drum and keyboard piece (Futurosphere), before the redundant Furax, and the very cold and Philip Glass-like Glassosphere that ends the album. Brrrrr....(and drum machines simply suck).

As a side note, their next cd (Eponymus II) was a big letdown for me. A harder edge with more whammy and tremolo on the guitar (this time mostly Cote), and even less melody and originality than the first cd.

Look, it's fine with me if I don't get the meaning (or spelling) of the weird song titles, or Fafard's fascination with angry eagles and reptiles in the cover art, or the Trekkie references in the group's name and some of the songs. But it is frustrating to see all that clutter getting in the way of what appears to be an incredibly talented bass guitarist and supporting band. My advice? (unsolicited though it be!): Change the band's name to "Fafard", find a great songwriting partner, and focus on making more of the great jazz/rock fusion music that I suspect is lurking behind all the fluff and pretensions.

Spaced Out's eponymous debut contains some decent jazz/rock fusion, but it's not an essential cd in this genre.

I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:
Music quality = 7.4/10; Performance = 9.5/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 9/10.
Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 8.3 ("3-1/2 stars")

Excellent musicianship! The actual song structures are weak in comparison to Epimonymous II but their sound is definitive. Please keep in mind the review is from a devote fan and this was the last CD I bought. I am impatient for a new release!

For heavy metal Prog with no vocal, these guys are great!
Fantastic spin!