Detailed Reviews [Mohodisco - 2002 - "Kaloomith"]

Preamble. "Kaloomith" is the debut of Mohodisco, which, in fact, is just a vehicle for another Solo Pilot to musical worlds, multi-instrumentalist and composer Bruce White. Nevertheless, as you can see above, many guest musicians played on this album as well. From the outset, I can say that I am hardly able to associate the name of the project, Mohodisco, with Progressive.

The Album. According to the CD press kit, "the album is an amalgam of musical styles and techniques: from breakbeat techno to jazz to progressive rock". However, the stylistic inconsistency of this all-instrumental album is just striking, and the sudden changes of musical directions are typical for it. Also, there is no Jazz on "Kaloomith": only the beats of Jazz-Fusion - and only sometimes - are recognizable here. As for Progressive Rock, it's quite a loose concept to use it as one of the album's stylistic details. The music on each of the first three tracks here: Praxis, Our Paths Are Sonic Waves, Gravity, and also on The Source (6), represents a fusion of quite a heavy Space Rock and Electronic music and is highly influenced by Ozric Tentacles circa "Jurassic Shift". The riffs and solos of electric guitar, those of synthesizers, most of which are certainly sequenced, and the parts of rhythm section, most of which, in their turn, are real here, play a prominent role in the arrangements on all four of the said compositions. Though the second track, Our Paths Are Sonic Waves, features the less number of heavy elements than any other of these pieces and, thus, sounds more synthetic than any of them. Radically, the stylistic palette of "Kaloomith" changed on the core tracks of the album: Remote Viewer and Soft & Sharp (4 & 5). I have no idea, whether both of them are about that breakbeat techno, which is mentioned in the CD press kit, or not. In which I am really sure is that these pieces, both of which are just filled with sequenced solos, can hardly be regarded even as the works of real Electronic music, not to mention Progressive. Everything is very monotonous here, and there just cannot be place for such 'sensible' concepts as Soft and Harsh in this incredibly synthetic music. Transcendence is the word: trance-and-dance. While being much in the vein of the most 'electronic' works of Ozrics, the album's title track (8), which, at the same time, is the last track here, contains a very nice solo of acoustic guitar. While its predecessor Mystery Falls (7) is not only the longest track, but also the most diverse and interesting composition on "Kaloomith". Nevertheless, the traces of influences of Ozrics are evident here as well.

Summary. If you're a fan of Ozrics (I am > not), you will most likely love most, if not all, of the contents of "Kaloomith". As for me, I'd better listen to a 'completely live' music - like Metal, for instance. (Indeed, even Death-Metal is a real 'live' music, though I am not into it.)

VM: January 16, 2003