Equations Of Meaning is the fifth solo album released by Tony Patterson. This multi-instrumentalist plays a lot of the instruments on the album himself, and is surrounded with talented guest musicians; Nick Magnus, Andy Gray, Brendan Eyre, Doug Melbourne, Adrian Jones, Siobhan Magnus, and Fred Arlington. The album itself sounds wonderful, the production is really good, which gets a big plus from me. First track Ghosts is completely instrumental. It starts lovely and calm, but after two minutes it turns more dark and haunting. The Magdalene Fields contains beautifully arranged vocals which gives me goose bumps. The song carries a serene atmosphere, but still gives a slightly haunted feeling because of the sound effects used, especially at the end. Each Day A Colour starts orchestral and ambient. This song reminds me of early day Porcupine Tree material. Cast Away is padded with orchestral moments, Mellotron and guitar. The Angel And The Dreamer begins dark and obscure, after two minutes the band kicks in and the song starts to open up. The up beat drums and guitars give the track extra power while it's filled with instrumental solo moments. The outro is, again, haunting and dreary. Beneath A Perfect Sky has a nice flow, and reminds me a of 90s lounge music because of the drums and composition.. Sycophant could have been a track by Peter Gabriel. It contains different musical trips and sounds quite poppy. The orchestral outro is very beautifully done, it could be used for a movie score. And When The Sky Was Opened starts very spacey, and again reminds me of early Porcupine Tree . Pilgrim starts with present synthetic drum sounds, but the song itself is light and open. As The Lights Go Out is an instrumental track, which only contains piano, flutes and some sound effects. The Kindest Eyes starts with an acoustic guitar, which gets accompanied by the full band later on. A very accessible, uplifting song that would do great as a single. Tony Patterson knows how to make airy, interesting songs. The album grabs you by the first listen, so it doesn't need a lot of spins to get into the total experience of the music. This is not for the fan who wants powerful progressive rock, but someone who appreciates calm, lingering music that somehow still keeps your attention. This is a real recommendation! ****+ Iris Hidding (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
