Before I start this review I have to put something right and apologize myself to this band. Down in 2021 Perfect Storm released their debut album called No Air (see review). Unfortunately I butchered this title into On Air, which kills even the essence of the title. My sincere apologies for this error. I remember well the moment No Air hit my CD player for the first time. I really was flabbergasted by the sound of this band. I even got more flabbergasted when it turned out to be a Dutch progressive rock band from the Groningen area. Perfect Storm's debut album was a revelation to me. Personally I felt the ghost of Yes in this album and the guitar playing of the band's anchor Gert-Jan Schurer reminds me of one of my biggest living guitar legends: Trevor Rabin. But it was also quite obvious to me that Gert-Jan Schurer developed his totally own style of playing. But the complex structures combined with killer melodic solo's brought Trevor Rabin to my mind. Gert-Jan Schurer is the leading figurehead of the band. But I am sure he doesn't like this title. For Gert-Jan Schurer is down to earth and for him the collective counts. On the debut album there also was a prominent role for Adel Saflou who took account for most of the vocals. He sounds like some sort of powerhouse. On frequent parts his vocals where "doubled" or layered by the beautiful voice of female vocalist Hiske Oosterwijk. The voices matched perfectly together. Perfect Storm referred themselves to Anathema, which I can endorse. When we take a look at the new album called Stairs it is immediately noticeable that the band has developed itself further. One of the regions on which Stairs differs from its predecessor are the vocals. The balance between the male and female vocal parts have changed a bit. Hiske Oosterwijk has a more prominent role on this album. Personally I think this is a smart move. When you have two outstanding vocalist, why not use them both? With this spoiler alert we jump to the new album Stairs and dive a little deeper into it. The line-up of the band is: Gert-Jan Schurer (guitars), Adel Saflou (vocals), Hiske Oosterwijk (vocals), Wieger Dijkstra (drums), Jan Munnik (keyboards) and David Klompmakers (bass guitar).With regards to the former album there are two mutations: the drummer and the keyboard player. The first track on the album Demons Dance starts with heavy Porcupine Tree-like guitar riffing. After one minute the riffing is alternated with very melodic vocal parts. Most of the vocals are layered. The rather dark vocals of Adel mix up with the higher vocals of Hiske Oosterwijk. The icing on the cake is the guitar solo of Gert-Jan Schurer. I'm a big fan of his guitar playing style. In this song he chooses a rather calm approach to the solo. The solo is so melodic that you could think that the vocal line continues. Well begun is half done, that's in my opinion the device of this album! Skin Deep Sky, the second track of this album, starts with quiet guitar work and melancholy vocals. After a while the rest of the band joins in. In the middle of the track the atmosphere of the song changes. This is done by means of orchestral sounds. Personally I find the melody lines that are composed here almost heavenly. The song ends quite abruptly after more than 5 minutes. As far as I'm concerned it could have continued for a while. On Don't Go, Perfect Storm shifts into a higher gear and it all gets a bit darker and especially heavier. Hiske Oosterwijk takes the lead in the vocals. Her voice has enough power to handle this. As far as I'm concerned, the keys also play a leading role in this song. The fine synthesizer arpeggios cut right through the track. On the fourth I Am Tomorrow track the heavy atmosphere continues. Adel has taken over the main vocals again. But as all over the album, a lot of bridges and choruses are doubled. This track also contains some brilliant changes in atmosphere. These changes are creative and above all natural. So it's easy to understand and to feel, this despite the fact that these changes are complex. Personally I think this is a great quality of this band. They don't changes atmosphere because they have to, but there is always an intelligent thought behind it. At the end of the track Gert-Jan Schurer takes space to play a phenomenal guitar solo. In my humble opinion Gert-Jan Schurer is one of the better guitar players in the scene. That all said, the next track Misspend starts with really great guitar strumming. The track develops into a rather melancholic whole. It breathes the atmosphere of Steven Wilson. The changes in atmosphere are once more great. The lead vocals are by Hiske Oosterwijk again. Personally I find this track the best track on the album. It's a track that touches me. Stairs the title track of the album is probably the most cinematic track on the album. The track has a very dreamy atmosphere and it continues quietly from beginning to end. The vocals have a lot of reverb, but if fits perfectly in the track. the only outlier in the track is the bridge towards the end of the track, where the guitar solo goes against the vocals. Gert-Jan Schurer has some sort of natural feeling for always choosing the most melodic solution. Depraved Mind is the latest track on the album and also, with 11 minutes, the longest track on the album. Before I started listening to this track I made myself the prediction that this track would be a worthy ending of this already exceptionally great album. Depraved Mind has a flying start. The first soundscapes are dark and heavy. After this intro the track gets even heavier. The first few minutes are mainly instrumental. When the vocals come in they immediately move in some sort of short funny intermezzo. After that the song continues in the dark and heavy atmosphere it started with. Halfway through the song, the atmosphere changes to a calm palette of sounds. It is even cinematic here and there. The calm part ends with an extremely good guitar solo by Gert-Jan Schurer. Personally, I think this solo is the best and most refined of the entire album. What a phenomenon that guy is! The guitar solo continues until the end of the song and here it also becomes a bit heavier. My premonition was right. This last song is a great ending to this beautiful album. After listening to Stairs several times I felt in love with this incredible album. I love the entire journey from beginning to end on this album. Stairs has rather complex song structures, but never getting bogged down in a palette of sounds that I can no longer understand. There is always eye for melody and that I appreciate a lot. The function of stairs is to give someone the opportunity to go to a next level. It's up to yourself you take this opportunity or not. Perfect Storm certainly took the opportunity to go next level. With regards to their first album No Air this band took huge steps forward. Stairs is an extraordinarily great album. In hashtags the album is: #musicality, #creativity, #guitar_extravaganza, #layered_vocals, #excellent_artwork (by Vlerk), #melodic, #anathema_vocal_style, #tension, # atmosphere_changes and #nothing_goes_above_groningen! This is an album I will easily come back to, it is one of the musical pearls of this year. Rating the album is therefore not too difficult and it's once again 5 out of 5. ***** Aad Bannink (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
