Solus 3 - The Sky Above the Roof
Solus 3 - The Sky Above the Roof
From Aural Innovations #41 (October 2010)
From the UK, Solus 3 are Julia Thornton, Hamilton Lee and Ian Blackaby plus many guests. SHAPESHIFTER: jazzy drums and female vocals from Hamilton Lee and Krupa with some Ian Blackaby bass and some nice tinkling and atmospherics. This is music that's hard to categorize, fluid avant-garde but melodic, pretty, pleasant and accessible. B5 BOUNCE: sung vocal stylizations on this one by Krupa and Elii Geba, funky pop rock with intricate drums, yes very nice! Some tasteful trumpet from James Williams, kinda reminds one of early 70's New York avant-jazz. BLOW HARP: big marching rock beat with experimental loveliness on top, no vocals yet. Oh, the cover art by Jan Dunning is very intriguing, cool etc!! Julia Thornton has played with Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry. Oh that's why she's so kickass! SPREZZATURA: backwards stuff, swellness abounds! Some more awesome Krupa vocals! Gets very strange with quiet spoken vocals along with soaring female vocals and the hypno funky avant groove. ROMANCE DE LA LUNA, LUNA, LUNA: this has lyrics written in Spanish by Federico Garcia Lorca and recited by James Williams along with trumpet and more of the hypno love beat! THE SKY ABOVE THE ROOF: Hamilton and Ian also play in Lunar Dunes (see AI #38) but I have to say I like this much more!. Stacy Clark has some nice vocals here, this song is more still and introspective than the previous tracks. MOBIUS TRIP: the last song, the long song! Pretty, a little slow but nice, tinkly atmospheric, never really goes anywhere, never gets out of first gear but still engaging!! Actually this CD is a breath of fresh air compared to most of the CD's I review. I very much appreciate the artistic approach to the recording and the quality of the playing!!!
For more information you can visit the Solus 3 web site at: http://www.solus3.com and http://www.myspace.com/solus3
Reviewed by Carlton Crutcher