Daymoon: All Tomorrows

Daymoon is a self-titled, 'regressive music' band from Portugal, The band is made up of Fred Lessing, on guitars, flute, recorders, keyboard, vocals, and ethnic percussion; André Marques, on acoustic and electric drums, and incidental vocals; Adriano Dias Pereira, on clarinet, flute, melodica, keyboard, sax, percussion, and vocals; Paulo Catroga, on keyboards and vocals; Nino, Mar, on bass guitar; Joana Lessing, on keyboard, percussion, and vocals; Rodrigo Caser, on electric guitar; Mark Guertin, on bass guitar; and Davis Raborn, on drums.

"Well alright, some may call it progressive, but regressive sounds a good deal cooler... and I guess it's not even Rock either. Others even call us Retro, but in a time when that means 14-year olds reviving their tamagotchi, we prefer to pull together music from the past 1000 years or so, and from any corner of the world. Except of course that we don't do it too well, and the vocals are crappy too, otherwise we'd be doing progressive rock. Or so" (http://www.daymoon-music.com/, 2011).

One of the better progressive rock releases this year. From the research, it sounds as if they are already working on the follow up, so we will soon be able to hear the new direction of the band's sound. This album is a cool experiment with sounds which I have seldom heard from other bands this year. There is both a great abundance of innovation, which immediately draws me to their music, while at the same time; they retain the sound of the great music I remember from the past. This is not a travelling album for the car. It's better for thinking and dreaming and especially good with headphones. Fill your head with some new innovative sounds. Daymoon's All Tomorrows is an innovative and interesting piece of progressive music.

'All Tomorrows' launches full of bass, keyboards, drums and guitar before the vocals join in "all tomorrows gone"! A great song to launch the album as the guitar, deep bass, and drums push on. The closing section of the song is the best part, bringing back memories of a full on orchestrated production reminiscent of Queen or Procol Harum.

'TranscendenZ' opens with more loud vocals before heavy drums, bass and then blistering guitar take over, supported well with mellotron like keys and clarinet. This one turns into a great instrumental segment with flute, clarinet, sax, and all manner of percussion and powerful drumming.

'Human Again' opens with soft acoustic guitar, bell chimes, flute, before the wonderful grand melody begins, supported by excellent keys. The electric is mixed well with the acoustic guitar as the vocals enter with great support of bass and keys. Another solid prog song filled with the sounds of Genesis, Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull. The chorus round that begins is a nice touch bringing more of those Tull/Genesis similarities to light. The flute work is excellent.

'Marrakech' is my favorite track on the album; unfortunately it is also one of the shortest. There is a short narrated opening before a cool vocal supported by recorders and excellent acoustic and electric guitar with great bass and key support. Reminds me of a Canterbury – like sound until the Middle Eastern melody takes over. An excellent surprise.

'Sorry' opens with keys, guitars, bass and then slow vocals which again bring back memories of early Pink Floyd. The bell chimes are back and they along with the keys weave a nice melody until the lead electric breaks through with flute support, to drive the sound up a notch. If Floyd and early Tull had collaborated, they might have created a similar sound. As one of the longest songs on the album, there is allot of great space for innovation and instrumental experimentation. The flute and lead electric guitar work on this song is interesting and mysterious.

'Bell Jar' is another of my favorites on the album. The mysterious flute opening with chimes and keys is the best opening on the album for me. The vocals take you right to Europe and a dark cold winter night. Great atmospherics and full of good melodies and more importantly instrumentation.

'First Rain' is another good song full of natural sounds and vocals that reflect that wonderful spirit of the fall. Great lead and supporting vocals, with excellent acoustic guitar, flute, percussion, and keys.

'Arklow' is another wonderful song full of great instrumentation. The bass is a real standout on this track. The keys, flute, and electric guitar work is also well worth the price of admission.

'News from the Outside' is another intense progressive piece of music which is full of keys, bass, and great electric guitar. This song has the most Pink Floyd sound to it. It would have fit well with some of the subject matter from 'The Wall'.

'The Sum' is the longest track on the album and full of fantastic instrumentation and innovative sounds.

Track Listing
01. All Tomorrows
02. TranscendenZ
03. Human Again
04. Marrakech
05. Sorry
06. Bell Jar
07. First Rain
08. Arklow
09. News From the Outside
10. The Sum

Added: April 14th 2012
Reviewer: Mark Johnson
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 5423
Language: english

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