INNERSPACE

Review # 74 This is a band I discovered recently, and I was surprised by its quality.

Rise, is a 70-minute-long concept album, about a dystopian future. The music is dark and melancholic, but beautiful and melodic at the same time. I found many similarities between Rise and Black Science by Machines Dream. (Both are new bands - well, kind of - both are Canadians, both released dark and melancholic concept albums this year, and both doesn't try to hide their Pink Floyd influences).

The album opens with a small intro including a choir (Dawn), followed by the wonderful instrumental Tree of Life, which could be easily used as a soundtrack for a movie. This was the first song I heard by them, and because of it, I tried to find more info about the band and this album. One of the best songs in the album without a doubt. It is a long, melancholic and very beautiful composition, which has a very interesting turn after the middle of the song. Tree of Life is followed by The Other Side, another sad, but beautiful tune as well. The low tempo and the melancholic style continues with the 4th song (In Motion), but once more the song includes a significant change and a wonderful guitar solo, which improves the song even more. Fill the Void is the 5th track and one more song including a major change in style. After a short piano intro, the song changes completely, with loud guitar riffs and a fast and powerful tempo. Sunset is another melodic instrumental, but not as melancholic as Tree of Life. (And 6 minutes shorter). The first part of the album closes with Under the Spotlight; a good and powerful composition.

And then, the second part of the album begins, which includes the Dystopian Delirium, divided into 5 parts. It begins with another intro, followed by Shadow of Freedom, which sounds like it was recorded by Dream Theater! But then comes the album's longest track (Forsaken Dreams), which is one of the highlights. Stronger than Death continues in almost the same style, and then comes Dusk, which is the album's finale, including a choir in the same style like Dawn; the opening song (and Tree of Life as well).

And just like that, 70 minutes have passed, and I reach my hand and press the "repeat" button. Because one time is not enough. I am not sure if I will finally include Rise in my list with the best 10 albums of 2017, but it seems very possible to happen. This is an album that definitely deserves your attention! Give it a try, and have your ears wide open! 4.0 stars

Recently heard this band, I listened to their last album, I think more general, but this new album but I was surprised. Although they were greatly influenced by pink floyd, but in this "rise" they found their own voice. This is a dystopia concept, the lyrics are obscure, it seems to describe a totalitarian control of all, and then find their own attempts. Music, very beautiful, especially piano and string together complement each other, guitar also occasionally have excellent performance, this point would like to david gilmour, but more modern. The best part is the upper half, the lower part is the anti-utopian suite, but relatively mediocre, can not let me find too many bright spots. So I give this album four points (out of five points), I really love to listen to it, has been listening for four times, should consider it into the ranks of the best album of the year.

Here's a concept album about a dystopian world which describes the way you can perceive the state of the actual world today. The band continues to show the Pink Floyd influence especially with the voice of Phil Burton. The guitar is in the Gilmour style also in some parts and you can hear some Richard Wright spacey keyboards. The music got a cinematic feel going into some different mood with piano and acoustic guitar through some prog metal parts with crunchy of electric guitars. All this music is embellished with classical arrangements and Latin chant. The songs switch from ballads passages to more upbeat parts that are obvious in the last epic song divided into 5 parts "Dystopian Delirium". This album has a nice atmosphere overall and doesn't appear long to get through the whole 70 minutes and will appeal to fans of Pink Floyd and RPWL. 3.6 stars

Innerspace is a new progressive rock band from Canada formed in 2010. They introduced their debut album The Village to the prog rock world in the summer of 2012. They instantly have been thrown in at the deep end with this concept album, but it impressed me right from the start.

The Village could be a concept album containing all kinds of stories. Though it's not explicit enough to get a good idea of what it's all about without the help of the booklet. On the one hand there seems to be a theme dealing with the individual versus institutions, a theme against which Pink Floyd wouldn't likely have objected. On the other hand it could also be that they refer to the movie with the same name. In this film the population of a small, isolated countryside village believe that the alliance with mysterious creatures inhabiting the forests around them is coming to an end. But even by using several sounds-capes like footsteps, closing doors and human voices − which provide the story of The Village an extra dimension - it's difficult to determine what the concept's all about.

Maybe the music on this CD isn't that original because throughout you can hear music that's particularly inspired by Pink Floyd. That didn't discourage me at all because music wise they have much to offer. However, Innerspace's interpretation of Pink Floyd's music is totally different if compared to other bands that regard Pink Floyd to be their major influence. The music on The Village is mostly tranquil and laid back. They have a dreamy approach to melodic rock which fits this band perfectly. Sometimes the music tends towards a band like Airbag, although the melodic Floydian guitar parts are the main ingredients of this band. Phil Burton's rich vocal tones remind me a lot of the way Dave Gilmour sings and that even applies to the sometimes hoarse vocals. In addition Paul Aubry's spacial keyboard sounds remind me of the late Richard Wright. Even the mellow rhythmic parts resemble Pink Floyd. Sure, the guitar solos hold a certain link with Gilmour, but not as much as you should expect from a band that's strongly influenced by this great British band. However, the use of female backing vocalists and a saxophone player increase the similarity with Floyd's music. Anyway, the musicians of Innerspace are capable performers otherwise you can't record an album that sounds so professional and mature.

To mention musical highlights isn't easy because most tracks are of an equally high level. Maybe Slippery Case, part I with a great synthesizer solo and the final track Land Of Reason with great bombastic keyboard parts slightly exceed the other ones. One thing's for sure! Innerspace recorded an outstanding debut album that will be loved by many Pink Floyd fans. The Village is a good starting point for their career. Hopefully they will develop a style of their own on their next release like so many other bands did that initially started by taking influences from their musical heroes. I'm sure this band is talented enough to record an original album that's hard to compare to other bands except for Innerspace! For me it's a strong 4 stars!

'The Village' - Innerspace (6/10)

Although I'd probably tend to cite Voivod as my favourite Canadian band, this country has a proud legacy of warm, melodic prog rock, both from the mainstream and underground circles. In this sense, Innerspace does not surprise me too much. Of course, a band's sound and style are not necessarily dictated by their region, but I've heard some great artists from the East recently (Druckfarben and Ken Baird, to name a couple) that remind me somewhat of what this Quebecois band are up to. "The Village" is their grand introduction to the world, and they have instantly tread into some fairly deep, ambitious waters with it. Although Innerspace's laid back, dreamlike approach to melodic rock can at times feel overdone, it's a promising start for a band I think we'll be hearing great things from in the future.

I don't think I'm alone as a listener when I cite Pink Floyd as a reference point. Everything from Phil Burton's rich vocal tone to Paul Aubry's spacey keyboards and Thomas Sauvé's cinematic rhythms gives the impression of something Roger Waters may have secretly been a part of. Although most Floyd-inspired bands sport their influence most through the guitar, Simon Arsenault's lead style betrays a metal influence that doesn't feel so much shared by the rest of the band. Listeners should still keep their ear out for a few Gilmour- esque solos, however. Especially considering their relatively young ages, Innerspace are capable performers. Paul Aubry's contribution here may be the most subtle, but it is the most enjoyable and interesting for me- his textures always seem to work for the mood of the given song. For a debut record, the production is fairly impressive; the atmosphere is warm and Phil's vocals sound full and clean. Unfortunately, the rhythm guitars tend to feel pretty dead in the water productionwise- it doesn't sound entirely 'off', but the more distorted side of the rhythm spectrum does not bode well for the band's recording style.

Pink Floyd feels very prominent in the band's songwriting as well. "The Village" is a concept album of sorts, and though it's not overt enough to get a good idea of what's going on without the help of a booklet, there seems to be a theme of the individual versus the institution within; something Floyd would not have likely objected to. The songwriting is generally pretty melancholic, and though only a few songs on here stand out as being great, it's clear that Innerspace have a firm grasp of songcraft. "Jack" is my favourite tune here- a simple, yet emotionally deep ballad-type track. On the whole however, it feels like "The Village" gets itself too trapped within a formula of slow-to-mid paced tracks. There is a bit of dynamic within the songwriting, but Innerspace never really seem to change gears until "Land of Reason." As if my request was answered before the album even came to a close, Innerspace throws out a tune that allows itself a much greater prog metal influence. As a result, the instrumentation gets more intense, and the tempo gets a much needed boost. Phil Burton's vocals are certainly better suited for the more laid back style, but there's no complaint here.

"The Village" accounts for its lack of dynamic with a final, epic close, but the change of heart feels a few songs too late. Innerspace execute the mellowed out, Floydian style well, but the homogeneous sound can wear thin unless that's precisely what a listener is looking for. It would have been great to hear Innerspace take a more varied approach to their music, because- as the last track bears witness- they have it in them to tackle multiple gears successfully. "The Village"s flaws are visible, but it's accomplished the most important mission of a debut; it's proven that these guys have potential.