Omenopus - "Time Flies"
(Monty Maggot Records 2010 MMCD002)
Omenopus - "Time Flies"
(Monty Maggot Records 2010 MMCD002)
From Aural Innovations #42 (May 2011)
The players are Lee Potts and John Pierpoint on instruments and Bridget Wishart on vocals (with a few instrument contributions of her own). Bridget sings more softly here than in her Hawkwind daze, more whispery, reminding me more of Finn Millar of the group Shay... and it's very sweet, but I kinda miss her "Images"-style. The framework of most of these tracks is mainly programmed drums, keys, bass... and guitar which at times could have been mixed a little higher. The first track, "Truth and Lies", features violin. The album is of a clean sound, mastered by Paul Cobbold (another name from Bridget's Hawkwind era), and the song style is rather poppy at times, with many being on the quieter side. My favorite tune is "These Are My Thoughts"... starts with an ominous bass-loop and Bridge-whispers before unfolding into some really gorgeous space-rock with cosmic keys, guitar, cool effects... an all-around great piece is this! "Night Twist" is a moody strummy mandolin jig with a cool vocal melody. "Hen" is a sad ditty with evocative lyrics about a battery hen, sounds like she might double here as a housewife. "You Don't Talk Like a Human" sounds like it's supposed to be menacing but isn't entirely convincing... still a decent tune, though. The album closes with the twenty-minute "Snapshot", featuring the voice of Sarah Panton, who sounds enough like Bridget herself... the song alternates verses with crunchy space-rocking riffage... I prefer the latter parts... though this track could have been better condensed if they'd chopped off one of the verse/riffing segments... maybe the middle one, as this last one is definitely more intense. The band obviously put a lot of effort and vision into this... and though the results aren't always stellar (or could have been a little "heavier") it's still a solid album for that.
For more info, visit: http://www.omenopus.com
Reviewed by Chuck Rosenberg