Thursday, October 9, 2014

SALANDER: Stendec (2014)

   Salander consists of two musicians: Dave Smith and Dave Curnow, who are work colleagues, and with a very different musical style in their likings. Dave Curnow is more on Rock and Blues, whilst Dave Smith in more on the Progressive Rock of the ‘70’s. (Maybe this difference in their music tastes gives that unique "flavour" in the band's sound). 
 Dave Curnow was looking for music for his big collection of stories and poems, so they decided to form a band on 2013. In one year they released no less than 3 albums, with ‘Stendec’ being their latest and more "mature" one.
  The album consists of 7 tracks, and has got a total running time of almost 65 minutes. As you can understand most of the songs are long, and the only exception is ‘Hypothesis 11/8’ which is under 5 minutes. Also, there are 3 songs which exceed 10 minutes in length.
  The music style can be characterized as modern Progressive Rock which is flirting with Pop on some occasions, maybe because of the many electronic instruments which are being used in the album. In my opinion the most important elements of Salander’s music are the very nice melodies, and the beautiful guitar sound which gives a different “color” on each song. The only minor disadvantage to my mind is the absence of a real drum kit. Electronic drums are good, but there can be no comparison with the sound of an actual drum kit. (Always in my opinion and according to my music likings).
  The album opens with the 13 minute-long ‘Pearls Upon a Crown’ which is one of the album’s highlights, and up to the 6th minute I was sure it’s an instrumental one. But I was wrong finally. Another highlight is the 3rd track ‘Even After’ which is a very beautiful melody, and my second most beloved song here. But the absolute highlight of the album is the closing song, the 8 minute-long ‘Zeigeist’. A really great composition for which I believe both Daves should feel proud for. (As far as I know lately they did a re-mastered version of ‘Zeitgeist’ which now became even better, and it is going to be released as a single).
  Concluding this review I should say that Salander definitely deserves more attention and recognition, and they are recommended to all of you who are fond of a modern sound, “painted” with beautiful guitar riffs and melancholic and romantic melodies.
 You can find their music in bandcamp, and if I’m not mistaken you can download some songs for free, so give them a try! Check here: www.Salander.bandcamp.com
I hope you find this post interesting and informative.
P.S: In the following video you can listen to 'Ever After' in order to have a small idea about Salander and their music. As for 'Zeitgeist', well... you will have to search for it... (And do, because is really worth it!) :)
Thank you for reading..



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