Search - Far Corner :: Endangered (Jewl)

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Dave_42 | Australia | 05/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Endangered" is Far Corner's second album. I came close to giving their first album five stars, but then I would have not have had the ability to show that this album is even better. For lack of a better name, this group is a chamber progressive quartet which plays instrumental music that draws on a number of styles. On this album the group expands on their influences and the sound. Drawing again on classical, chamber, jazz, and rock, and adding to that much more experimentation and even some progressive metal influence.



This album was released on January 16, 2007. It opens with "Inhuman" which serves as an extended introduction to the album. From the very start this album is quite different from their debut. The first piece builds from almost nothing, and uses the bass as the primary instrument for the melody growing to a crescendo which leads to the excellent "Do You Think I'm Spooky?" The piece has a driving beat to it, and some fantastic instrumentation, and was recorded live as it was performed on the radio. The third track is "Creature Council", which according to the notes started out as a two minute piano solo, but other than the intro, you wouldn't know it as it is a 10-plus minute piece which involves, once again, some great playing from all members of the group.



"Claws" starts off the second half of the album. This piece was improvised in the studio, with the concept of using scratching sounds. As an improvisation piece, it is also a slow building work, and yet it is completely different from the other works on the album. "Not From Around Here" is the only piece which draws from jazz, but yet at the same time it fits with the rest of the album due to the level of performance. Its presence also adds to the incredible number of styles used on this album. The last track is the improvised title track "Endangered". One by one the group went into the studio and added to what had come before. This is by far the longest piece on the album at nearly 20 minutes, it is also the most experimental of the pieces on the album. The opening movement is an engaging piece which one does not easily identify as an improvisational work, the second movement is slower, but still holds to a standard form. The piece then moves into a very experimental section, before returning to a lighter form which starts to pick up more and more drive from the rhythm section.



As with the first album, the group consists of William Kopecky (fretless and fretted electric bass); Dan Maske (keyboards, trumpet, melodica, additional percussion); Angela Schmidt (acoustic and electric cello, violin, bamboo flute); and Craig Walkner (drumset). Each of the members contributes a lot to the final product, and are clearly very fine musicians. Jerry Loughney guests with a violin solo on "Not From Around Here". As with the first album, Dan Maske composed all the pieces with the exception of the improvisational pieces. This time there is no question that this is a five-star effort.



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