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░ ██ ██ Artist: Poor Genetic Material ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Absence █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2016 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2017-06-13 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: QuiXote Music ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ An oddly familiar scene, a fleeting scent, faint █
█ friendly voices, a touch just so, or a subtle █
█ awakening of long dormant taste buds...such █
█ playful prodding of senses past seems to multiply █
█ with the passage of time. We construct memory as █
█ our years advance, on the fly, such that what we █
█ recall is not our lived past but how our internal █
█ storyteller sees fit to reenact it. Nostalgia is █
█ not an uncommon theme among even the relatively █
█ young in our favorite bands, and it's certainly █
█ not necessary to dive back into the recent or █
█ distant past to cite numerous examples. But one █
█ that might be unfairly overlooked is the latest █
█ from the German/Scottish band POOR GENETIC █
█ MATERIAL. █
█ Simply titled "Absence", its sensuous approach is █
█ to simulate the daydreaming that accompanies █
█ reflections of one's past, often beginning almost █
█ imperceptibly before morphing into sentiments █
█ raging from intense regret to wistfulness to █
█ unadulterated joie de vivre. The overall tempo █
█ varies from airborne spaciness to somewhat more █
█ plodding than the expectations set by prior PGM █
█ efforts whilst clinging to the band's lucid █
█ pairing of its musical and lyrical visions. █
█ They have wisely retained the services of 2 of the █
█ best vocalists in the business, the father-son █
█ tandem of Martin and Phil Griffiths, as well as █
█ the colourful musings of flautist Pia █
█ Darmstaedter. These contributors are as always █
█ ably backed by the musical masterminds Philip █
█ Jaehne and Stefan Glomb, and a rhythm section that █
█ approximates the procession into later earthly █
█ life and perhaps beyond. █
█ All tracks are lyrically effective with only "What █
█ if..." somewhat lacking in the nuanced interplay █
█ we have come to expect. The high point for me is █
█ the tandem of the affirming "chalk hill blues" and █
█ the aching of severed, perhaps imagined, █
█ connections cast by "Absconded". █
█ My own regrets vis a vis the present recording are █
█ that it seems once again to elude the wider prog █
█ and musical community outside of a few enclaves in █
█ Europe; the band is too busy with other projects █
█ to be free to perform live; and this might be █
█ their last gift to us. I for one will deeply feel █
█ their absence. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Absence - Part 1 12:57 ░
░ 2. What If...? 5:59 ░
░ 3. Lost in Translation 4:58 ░
░ 4. Chalkhill Blues 3:42 ░
░ 5. Absconded 10:38 ░
░ 6. Absence - Part 2 18:34 ░
░ 56:48 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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