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Narrow-caster, Just for Kicks, 2008

Robert James Pashman

Bass, keyboards and vocals

George Dobbs

Vocals & Keyboards

Pat Kliesch

Guitar & Vocals

Rob Durham

Drums & Percussion

Produced by: Robert James Pashman, George & Pat Dobbs Kliesch

Length: 46 min 57 sec

Media: CD

01. Apophenia

06th The Proverbial Banana Peel

02nd It Works

07th Young Once

03rd Narrow-caster

08th Scenery

04th Live With This Forever

09th Free For All

05th Cautionary Tale

10th The Last Gasp

3RDEGREE are another band from the Greater New York - or more precisely from New Jersey - that the Progressive rock has prescribed. The band was already beginning and middle of the 90erJahre. After a separation of nearly twelve years of corporate Pashman Robert James (bass, keyboards and vocals), Pat Kliesch (guitar & vocals), George Dobbs (vocals and keyboards) and Robert Durham (drums & percussion) start another order in the 3RDEGREE Prog international scene to establish.

That they could succeed lies in the good songs and the undeniable instrumental abilities of four. Prog 3RDEGREE make all the classic sense, they are open to influences of all musical styles. The four musicians also elements of jazz, pop, electronica and world music in their rock influence.

It sounds a little like 3RDEGREE YES in their trendy phase of "90125" to "talk". Both in terms of the length of the pieces as well as the implementation, the parallels are not from one country to another. Insofar likely 3RDEGREE fallen even those who are deterred by the idea could, progressive music meant endless instrumental passages and each piece is longer than ten minutes. This is not the case here, because the longest piece on "Narrow-Caster" has not even reached the 6-minute mark. It is here as the proverb already knows the spice in the near future: no song is extravagant or by artificial instrumental parts "bloated". The tracks are then to the end, if musically and textually all is said and done.

Very succinctly, the vocals of keyboardist George Dobbs, the vocally strong parallels to Joseph Williams (TOTO singer on the albums "Fahrenheit" and "The Seventh One") and Michael Jackson (whose "Bad" phase) aufweist. As a keyboardist experiment Dobbs and Robert James Pashman happy with different sounds, the songs very different moods miss.

Robert James Pashman also sets out with his melodic bass playing and his warm, soft sound is the perfect foundation for the songs. Pashman but does not like other bassists only in the background. He knows himself to set. The perfect partner for this is drummer Rob Durham, characterized by very sensitive, groovy and varied drumming apart.

Pat Kliesch is also not a prog-rock guitarist, the violently distorted sounds with the sound landscape zukleistert. Rather, he weaves together with the keyboards a sound carpet. Instead of the chords in an attack to play much more frequently uses Kliesch arpeggios and he used more clean guitars. The solos are characterized more by then also a liquid, clear melody leadership than by high-speed Shredding. Insofar resembles his game most likely Alex Lifeson of RUSH or Andy Summers from THE POLICE.

The band may also convince polyphonic singing. That sounds not like Queen, but significantly better than in many other bands of the genre. There are 3RDEGREE roughly comparable with Spock's Beard, who certainly will be the better rate singers in the industry count. The best example is Young Once. Tip for puck is interested but the opener Apophenia, by vertrackte and opposing rhythms, varied sounds and his very successful leadership convinced melody. It is still a song-and accessible. Here I had at least more than once to PRIMUS to think their best times. Even the ensuing It Works is one of the highlights of this CD, with his groove discreet and casual stage piano sound.

The only shortcoming of "Narrow-Caster" is something to thrust production, for which the band itself is responsible. Of course, every tool at any time on the CD clearly be heard. But now and then would be a little more desire and force the guitars could be something powerful and at some point, voluminous sound. But otherwise is "narrow-caster" a completely successful prog-rock album, with supporters of the genre would arrive.

Marc Langel (Article list), 02.12.2008