Exposé Online banner

Rhys Marsh — Sentiment
(Autumnsongs AR018CD, 2014, CD)

by Jon Davis, 2015-01-06:

Sentiment Cover art Norwegian musician Rhys Marsh presents a set of music both like and unlike the band Kaukasus, of which he is a member. As for similarities, there is Marsh's voice itself, which is generally melodic and somewhat breathy, reminiscent of Tim Bowness, though he has a much stronger low register, and drops down into bass territory on occasion. The main difference is that the the space-rock detours are absent, along with woodwind instruments. The tracks are of modest length, with only one slipping over six minutes, and therefore center more on the singing. The guitar work, both electric and acoustic is solid and superbly recorded, but it is probably keyboards that do more to define the sound. If Mellotrons can choke horses, surely this album has enough of them to do it. Both string and flute sounds are used on nearly every track, along with electric piano and other instruments, none of which are noticeably digital in nature, though I wouldn't rule them out. Sentiment is a prime example of applying such vintage sounds in a modern context. The general vibe is not unlike Porcupine Tree without any appreciable metal elements. Tempos and moods vary from track to track so, while the overall effort is very cohesive, it doesn't descend into tedious sameness. On the whole, this is a fine release that should find fans among many prog fans, provided they're not allergic to Mellotrons.

by Henry Schneider, 2014-12-22:

This is a release that I am having difficulty getting into. Most of the songs are a melancholic bluesy/jazzy form of progressive rock, at times like latter day King Crimson. Something keeps telling me to draw a comparison to Sting and The Police as well, though I could be way off base. The instrumental sections are great, but given that these are songs, Rhys’ vocals and lyrics do not provide enough space to fully develop his musical and compositional ideas for my tastes. He does use a generous amount of Mellotron throughout similar to Fripp on “The Court of the Crimson King.” There is also a dash of Porcupine Tree and Tim Bowness applied here and there. This may be one of those releases where repeated listenings will aid in appreciating the music, as well as experiencing it when you are in different moods. Kind of like listening to early Leonard Cohen, if you weren’t already depressed, you were after listening to him sing. It was not until the final track “Give Me (What You Need)” that I finally heard something that grabbed my attention. This is the first real upbeat song on the disc. At any rate, Sentiment is the first full solo album release by this young Norwegian singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer.

Filed under: New releases , 2014 releases

Related artist(s): Rhys Marsh

More info

Latest news

2018-09-05
Krautrock Documentary Seeks Funding – The next installment of the Progressive Warriors documentary series will focus on the vast body of music that falls under the banner of "krautrock." As most of our readers will know, previous films have tackled RIO and the Canterbury scene, as well as what we might call "mainstream" prog rock. » Read more

2018-07-31
Tomasz Stańko RIP – Tomasz Stańko, one of the greats of Eastern European jazz, has died at the age of 76. Stańko's career started in Krzysztof Komeda's quintet, where he contributed trumpet from 1963-1967, when he formed his own group. He worked extensively with Edward Vesala, Don Cherry, Zbigniew Seifert, Chico Freeman, Howard Johnson, Cecil Taylor, and many others. Many of his recordings have been released by ECM, an association that began in the mid-70s. » Read more

2018-07-09
Soft Machine Set to Release New Music – It's been 50 years since The Soft Machine changed the face of music with their first album. Their blend of psychedelic rock and jazz was unique, and while the band went through many changes before disbanding in 1981 — by which time there were no original members remaining — they remained an innovative force with a style all their own. » Read more

2018-07-01
7d Surfaces Happy Rhodes Back Catalog – We've covered singer Happy Rhodes before, both for her solo work and recently with The Security Project, but her 11 albums have been hard to track down. Until now. 7d features high-quality downloads of all her releases, and several of them are also available on CD. » Read more

2018-06-25
Fred Chalenor RIP – We have news of another sad passing in the world of creative music. Bassist Fred Chalenor, whose creativity featured on albums by Tone Dogs, Caveman Shoestore, and many more, died on June 23, 2018 after a long battle with Alzheimer's. Tributes have poured in from the many musicians and fans whose lives he touched. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Ines - Hunting the Fox – German keyboardist Ines has assembled an impressive group of session players for this surprisingly good debut. The music straddles the lines of old and neo-progressive, accessible yet powerful, with...  (1994) » Read more

Various Artists - Strange Daze '97 – The inaugural event which was covered in Exposé issue 14 is captured here on 2 CDs. If you have any aversion to space rock at all, keep away. The Gaia Avatara, Red Giant, and Nucleon tracks...  (2000) » Read more

Napoli Centrale - Napoli Centrale – In the vein of bands like Perigeo, Agora, Duello Madre, and Dedalus; Napoli Centrale are an Italian jazz rock outfit playing music quite different from their symphonic contemporaries. They're a...  (1996) » Read more

Happy Birthday Secret Weapon - Ground Floor Coming Up – This Seattle-based band takes an interesting turn away from standard guitar power trio sounds. Certainly more complex (especially rhythmically) than your standard rock fare, they haven’t...  (2011) » Read more

I.E.M. - I.E.M. – The Incredible Expanding Mindf*ck is one of Steven Wilson’s (Porcupine Tree, No-Man) side projects. The goal of the original IEM album from 1996 was to do an anonymous Krautrock project. The...  (1999) » Read more

Random review

Listen & discover

Billy Sherwood's "No Man's Land" video

More recommendations
ProgStock 2017

Print issues