Customer Reviews

Tick Tock

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is not for everyone, but allow me to describe it so you know if this "shoe fits" you or not.
For those that have patience for complex songs with several structures, this record has excellent production, and many intricately placed and layered sounds.
Some would likely find some parts a bit repetitive, but with some of the repetition, new song structures get layered on.
In some ways, this record is like a cross between progressive rock and a symphony.
"Tick Tock Part II" is probably one of the richest tracks and isn't for the radio-friendly crowd, but is quite suspenseful and deliriously rewarding if you want some nice keyboards, flute, different guitars, and soaring and drawn out vocals.
I'm glad Last.fm and other sites that recommend music so very creative artists like Gazpacho can get their material out there.
I learned of these guys because I like Riverside, Porcupine Tree, No-Man, and other sort of psychedelic progressive rock acts.

I saw this group at ROSfest, 2010 and with each song they became more amazing to listen to.
The group is from Norway and as difficult and pehaps unfair it is to name a group or two
that they "sound like", it is naturally what is done. This is quite unfair, since this band
have their OWN very distinctive sound. If I may, if one weren't paying attention, they might even
trump more recent Marillion almost in a corner.

They band admits they have a tremendous influence from Porcupine Tree, so they
are most certainly prog. Very melodic and mesmerizing. Impossible for me to describe more other than to
say a flavor you will not find matched anywhere and perhaps you will indeed insist on having more and more.
Well done Gazpacho. I am truly led to say...wow...

This is the first album that I have purchased by Norway's Gazpacho and I like what I hear. The influence that comes to mind right off the bat is Steve Hogarth era Marillion. Other influences seem to include Radiohead, Muse, Porcupine Tree, and Pineapple Thief. This is melodic progressive rock done at the highest level and I really enjoy the sonic explorations that this band pulls off. The album consists of only 4 tracks, with "The Walk" and "Tick Tock" multi-part enjoyable epics. Traditional progressive rock instruments are augmented by violin here and there throughout the disc which adds to the rich complexity of the music. "Tick Tock" is one of the best prog releases of 2009 and I will definitely be seeking out more of this band's material.

The music of Tick Tock is there to allow the vocal line its phenomenal emotional expression. Sometimes it almost feels like the moments of eerie northern ambience so skillfully reinforced by violins, flute, accordion, mandolin and mandola are like gusts of wind carrying the voice to its next great momentum. And then the rock music comes and lets the voice to rest. They are both rather sad and solemn and although personally I am just guessing something I am unable to experience, that sadness might fall upon quite a few listeners preventing them from enjoying this music. First song might do it as well, because for whatever reason that first song happens to be the album's weakest and sounds a bit over the top. I would suggest waiting for the proper moment so you don't reject this music before you give it a chance. And in the evening, when you find yourself left alone place a pair of quality headphones over your ears, dim your lights, lay down or sit down comfortably, close your eyes and start listening to song number 6 (Tick Tock part 3) at first, for a while. That one part alone is worth the price of this album, in gold. You should be able to notice and be moved by the beauty of creation of beauty which often overwhelms us, as it should.

The strength of this expression comes forward in the incredible emotion and depth of Jan Henrik Omhe's voice. Thom Yorke, Paul Buchanan, Chris de Burgh, Lisa Gerard and Marco Gluhmann come to mind because their voices are capable of similar expression. The melodies and instrumental arrangements create an appropriate background to vocal lines of Tick Tock but they mainly carry them forward. It is great music with gorgeous build-ups and quiet ambient moments, but Jan Henrik's voice plays such a monumental part in becoming the core of expression of this sound and in bringing the thresholds of our experience. To me Gazpacho came as the nicest musical surprise of quite a few years. Such breathtaking beauty I might have expected coming from Radiohead or Porcupine Tree but not from this cd I randomly picked. However, after visiting their website and reading some reviews on various progressive rock sites I see that Gazpacho is well recognized by that community. And here in the States we can hardly get their music on cds? I don't think many people realize the strenght of what they are missing. Here is a band which has been around for over ten years and creates songs of such magnitude, and the world at large stays silent. That sort of reminds me of 1995 when I walked into Tower Records and picked up a copy of Porcupine Tree's The Sky Moves Sideways (intrigued by its cover) and was not sure if I was shocked more by the beauty and strength of their music or by the complete lack of their recognition in those days. As a matter of fact (for whatever reason) Drawing The Line, Porcupine Tree's recent song I find myself most addicted to captures similar haunting beauty as do my favorite songs of Tick Tock. Although the magic of Steven Wilson's song comes in greater part through the power his lyrics impress upon us. Gazpacho comes from Norway, which does not help their case. Neither does their name. However, many of my recent jewels come from foreign lands. Karmakanic from Sweden, White Rose Transmission from Holland, RPWL and Sylvan from Germany.

And when song number 6 causes its preplanned celestial tremors inside your heart you probably might want to listen to Tick Tock in its entirety. Part 2 is amazing as well, much more intricate and you might enjoy it even more. So is song 2 (The Walk part 1). These are definitely my highlights and their combined strength makes Tick Tock one of my favorite albums of the 21st Century.

Although this is their fourth release as a band, it is the first album that I have had the opportunity of enjoying so far. I will begin saying that this album contains the most formidable progressive rock music that I have heard in the current year. This Norwegian band with such an strange name -Gazpacho is a Mediterranean, mostly Spanish and Andalucian soup based in smashed raw tomato, olive oil and other idiosyncratic ingredients- succeeds in making a piece of music that combines light with darkness, the somber and the sublime, the sense of happiness and sadness in a single whole, never playing faster than the mid tempo, with solid ambient overtones that help to create a Floydian/Porcupine Tree type of soundscape that sustain beautiful melodies and fascinating instrumental passages. Violin and mandolin fuse with guitars, keyboards, percussion and...voice! Yes, Jan Henrik Ohme, a singer with glasses, happens to have the best suited voice, with a fine balance of power and emotion, to the band's music and sound. The album is divided in four parts and seven -we might say- songs that flow softly one into the other at times, which allows the listener to experience the parts as elements of one whole piece of music, dealing with a coherent subject. It is impossible to avoid comparisons. Here is mine: imagine that Porcupine Tree, afer publishing "Signify" and "Metanoia" had not decided to pour into their following works a new metal sound into the mix. Well, we would not have had "Stupid Dream", "In Absentia" and "Deadwing". We would have had something like Gazpacho's "Tick Tock". Definitely, Gazpacho is a band to be watched -and listened to- attentively from now on. Right now, I do not get tired of listening "Tick Tock" any time during the day.

if you know gazpacho you know he's good but it take's a certain frame of mind to listen to it. it's like radiohead but with a little slower take on the songs. thank you

This album is a true progressive masterpiece!
I own over 2,000 prog cds & this one is in my top 10!
Yes, it is THAT good!
Buy it, you won't regret it!