(Unicorn Digital)
Karcius- Kalidescope
(Unicorn Digital)
From Aural Innovations #36 (May 2007)
Karcius is an instrumental group aiming at playing a mix of progressive rock and fusion jazz music. Four instrumentalists created the band at spring 2001: Dominique Blouin on bass, Thomas Brodeur on drums, Simon L'Esperance on guitars and Mingan Sauriol on keyboards....HYPOTHESE A French Canadian rock?! Piano, guitar, sounds like 70's prog jazz rock, then Steely Dan-ish, then funky bombastic heavy metal arena rock and back to 70's prog all within a minute or so! All these changes, how can a musician remember it all or why would he want to? Boy, this is startin' to be Spinal Tap pretty quick! Like everything else I've reviewed this round, there's all this great playing and sound production, song arrangements etc! But hardly any originality, come on folks, take a chance and do something from your heart!? It's really hard to believe that people in 2007 are playing this kind of music, it's a total time warp! I wonder how old these guys are? MAINTENANT more mellow piano music, nice bass, conjurs up fern bars, Harvey Wallbangers, blondes in yellow halter tops with sunburned boobs! "Oh Skippy, let's go sailing!" Like Mahavishnu Orchestra without the soul or Jeff Beck with less technicality! DESTINATION more propulsive guitar/drums with noodly piano! Oh thank God there hasn't been any male vocals yet!! If anyone wants to make a movie set in Ridiculous 1974 this is your band! It's amazing how this goes from metal to tinkly fern jazz in a split second!? Why?! What does it all mean? If I owned a Hotel I'd hire them!!! TUNNEL cool, more of the same!! I wonder if they have a big following up there in Quebec? I wonder if people there still have shags and platform shoes? HYPOTHESE B I don't know what hypothese means? More lovely prog rock! This time 11:02 worth! God all these elaborate noodly doodly changes every three seconds. I know alot of bands do this sort of thing but I never understand it! It's like the band is trying to impress with how many changes it can do in one song. Then it goes into cool slow lonely guitar! These guys are prolly fun live, if you like this sorta thing?! A-0-14 Metal dude! Head bangin' stuff! Rad man!! Porn metal lead guitar, you know the sound!!? EPILOGUE funky fun dude! "I'll live in the 70's forever, it's safe here!!"....HYPOTHESE C more of this hypothese stuff!! Like I said before I'm just happy there's no pseudo Jon Anderson vocals!?! Snazzy, I bet these guys have a subscription to Musician and Guitar World magazine! Who's got the biggest amp?!
Visit the band web site at: http://www.karcius.com/
Visit the Unicorn Digital records web site at: http://www.Unicorndigital.com
Reviewed by Carlton Crutcher