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Lisnaholic · 03-23-2014, 07:00 AM

I`ve just noticed you`re discussing this album, so I`d like to throw in my ten cents if that`s ok:-

Album title: Erpland
Artiste: Ozric Tentacles

Familiarity: Mrd00d or Doatar recommended this album a couple of years back, and I`ve been listening to it off and on since then.
Favourite track: Being the first track, everything sounds fresh and promising on Eternal Wheel, so that`s the one I enjoy the most. As has been mentioned, the tracks rather run together and I haven`t paid enough attention to pick another fave.
Least favourite track: Mysticum Arabicola sounds very out of place to me and gave me the impression that, having exhausted their own genre for the moment, the Ozrics thought they`d play at, or rob, someone else`s genre. That kind of dilettante approach often spells disaster imo, as it does here with Iscence as well.
End impression: In contrast to TH`s view, I feel that being an instrumental album is a major plus, which is what drew me to the album in the first place. My theory is that if you`re not going to sustain interest with the fall-back option of lyrics, your playing has to be that much better, and I think Erpland meets that challenge; all the tracks have something interesting going on.
Urban mentioned how clean the sound is - not a big obstacle for me, but he did make me aware that the clean contributes to the dated feel of this album. Likewise, the guitar and synths have a slight "done before" quality about them, but that doesn`t necessarily mean "done better"; I really loved the way the mellow of the synths complimented the bite of the guitars.
Would I want to listen to this album again? Yes absolutely, because, despite the above, I`ve never managed to play this album from start to finish yet. It slowly wears me down and I hit the off button before the end. Before they gave us such a value-for-money seventy-minutes worth, I think the band should`ve considered that ancient bit of advice for show-biz performers, "Always leave them wanting more". This album always makes me feel that I`ve over eaten musically.

Rating: Is it out of 5? I`d give this album a 4 - and will be following up on Anteater`s recommendation of Jurassic Shift. Sounds like it might be a lighter meal: thanks for the tip!

EDIT: I see from the last post that you`re running a pretty tight ship here, TH ! Just to let you know that I`m only here in passing, tbh - not even sure if I`d qualify for Associate membership!

03-23-2014, 07:00 AM	#732 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	I`ve just noticed you`re discussing this album, so I`d like to throw in my ten cents if that`s ok:- Album title: Erpland Artiste: Ozric Tentacles Familiarity: Mrd00d or Doatar recommended this album a couple of years back, and I`ve been listening to it off and on since then. Favourite track: Being the first track, everything sounds fresh and promising on Eternal Wheel, so that`s the one I enjoy the most. As has been mentioned, the tracks rather run together and I haven`t paid enough attention to pick another fave. Least favourite track: Mysticum Arabicola sounds very out of place to me and gave me the impression that, having exhausted their own genre for the moment, the Ozrics thought they`d play at, or rob, someone else`s genre. That kind of dilettante approach often spells disaster imo, as it does here with Iscence as well. End impression: In contrast to TH`s view, I feel that being an instrumental album is a major plus, which is what drew me to the album in the first place. My theory is that if you`re not going to sustain interest with the fall-back option of lyrics, your playing has to be that much better, and I think Erpland meets that challenge; all the tracks have something interesting going on. Urban mentioned how clean the sound is - not a big obstacle for me, but he did make me aware that the clean contributes to the dated feel of this album. Likewise, the guitar and synths have a slight "done before" quality about them, but that doesn`t necessarily mean "done better"; I really loved the way the mellow of the synths complimented the bite of the guitars. Would I want to listen to this album again? Yes absolutely, because, despite the above, I`ve never managed to play this album from start to finish yet. It slowly wears me down and I hit the off button before the end. Before they gave us such a value-for-money seventy-minutes worth, I think the band should`ve considered that ancient bit of advice for show-biz performers, "Always leave them wanting more". This album always makes me feel that I`ve over eaten musically. Rating: Is it out of 5? I`d give this album a 4 - and will be following up on Anteater`s recommendation of Jurassic Shift. Sounds like it might be a lighter meal: thanks for the tip! EDIT: I see from the last post that you`re running a pretty tight ship here, TH ! Just to let you know that I`m only here in passing, tbh - not even sure if I`d qualify for Associate membership! __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953 Last edited by Lisnaholic; 03-23-2014 at 07:09 AM.