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Reviews

Blurred Vision — Organized Insanity
(Open Eyes Records BV0001OE, 2015, CD)

by Paul Hightower, Published 2015-08-16

Organized Insanity Cover art

Canadian trio Blurred Vision have attracted attention via an endorsement from Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. Listening to these 11 songs it’s easy to understand why, since many of the lyrical themes and topics from singer and guitar player Sepp Osley and his brother, bassist Sohl, touch on those Waters repeatedly mined himself. The album includes anti-war anthems “No More War” and “Arms of Our World” and the strummed protest tune “Dear John.” The song “Long May You Run” even features a pointed and intimate vocal wedded to a simple arrangement (complete with bluesy guitar solo) that immediately evokes Waters compositions from all those classic 70s Floyd albums. The band is labeled progressive and psych, but as far as I’m concerned those are marketing tactics. Whiffs of modern production techniques (courtesy of Terry Brown) crop up here and there, and “The Keeper” stretches out nicely with exotic influences (the Osleys are Iranian) and instrumental interplay that reveals a band that has more in common with fellow Canadian rockers Rush than just their producer. But make no mistake, this is an album meant to evoke popular nostalgia without scaring off the masses. The Osleys and drummer Ben Riley are presented as hip, youthful and sound eager to make a statement packaged in easily digestible pop rock morsels. Fans of melodic rock bands like King’s X may connect with this album, but Blurred Vision still have a ways to go if they want to inherit the mantle of master songwriters like Roger Waters.

Filed under: New releases, 2015 releases

Related artist(s): Blurred Vision

 

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