RPWL : "Crime Scene"

 

This progressive rock band from Bavaria decided to make an album about dark things like serial killers and the other wise seedy underbelly of human deviance. Sounds great lets check it out. Ok so I have never heard these guys before. Based on what I am hearing it is unlikely they changed their sound much to match up with the topic ,as they play a very flowing Pink Floyd like meandering, in fact they are not as dark as Pink Floyd, since there are no "Animals" moments much less the dystopian chill of "the Wall" . It is very pleasant and well done. But if it's about serial killers it is from the lens of the Life Time channel, there is nothing dark about this, even lyrically. Well, words are words so it all about delivery and how you are conveying those sentiments. 

The sun comes out even brighter for " A Cold Spring Day...". The carefree strum of guitars offsets, the bleak lyrics. The upbeat chorus is the nail in the coffin for capturing any manner of creepy mood. A good rule of thumb for tackling these topics would be , how would this music work in a horror movie. Even when Pink Floyd did this kind of thing they used more tension. Fans stepping up to defend this judgement , might argue well this is not your kind of music. I love Pink Floyd and I am fond of Porcupine Tree, though the same reasons I do not listen to Porcupine Tree are the same reasons I do not see this album getting more spins. They improve in capturing the mood with "Life in a Cage" . It is the album's best song so far. 

"King of the World' progresses into a more melancholy minor, key that feels more introspective than an exploration of evil, but this song veers from the motif and finds the band falling in line with most progressive rock. To their credit for the song to be over twelve minutes it flows well. There is a more jammy fuzzed out tone to the last song. Even with lyrics "ready for the kiss of death/ when you come to take my breath" it sounds hopeful and uplifting, like I am easing down a lazy river. Thematically the alb um might miss the mark, but musically they are a great laid back prog band that puts songwriting and melody first which I can appreciate. I will give this album an 8.5, if you are into prog that is more long the lines of Porcupine Tree check this out.