Greylyng the duo is now Greylyng the trio, the core of guitar-keyboardist Jeff Cedrone and synthesist John C. Miller augmented by drummer Stephen Zieminski. Instrumentally, there is a lot going on in the band's new release, the aptly titled I Keep Silence...
Greylyng is notably influenced by sympho, space rock, fusion and progressive electronic — with some Krautrock thrown in for good measure. Cedrone is the primary composer of the more dynamic segments, it seems, having been a university level music student. Sticking to electronics, Miller's forte is texture; certain timbres are also effected via tape manipulations. The absence of a dedicated bass player isn't immediately felt as there is no sparseness to the music whatsoever, particularly with the addition of Ziemenski (and as with Jeff Beck's classic, Guitar Shop, it's not an alien concept). Cedrone doesn't hesitate to add distorted guitar for some bite, either.
The tracks are laden with great playing but also bits o' noodling and at times the proceedings sound a bit scattered where cohesiveness would have served the end result. The piano coda that closes the nine-minute-plus "Showdown Of The Concord Sphere" feels like an idea that could have been elaborated upon and given its own showcase. "Static/Murmur/Battle" is a bit rough 'round the edges but comes off like an interesting take on Rush-meets-Architectural Metaphor. "Viburnum" is a bit of an oddity with an electronics-driven first half grafted onto a rock section that owes more to Polytown.
Greylyng is a trio of accomplished players with ideas to spare, but perhaps composition resolution is something they can perfect. The tendency to improvise is never a minus, but that wasn't the aim of I Keep Silence... to begin with. It's still an engaging listen — and like they say, "third time's the charm."
Tracks:
1. Gaslight Eyes
2. Viburnum
3. Memories Of Plastic Sunshine
4. The Sleep Projector
5. Showdown Of The Concord Sphere (piano coda)
6. Between Scylla And Charybois
7. Static/Murmur/Battle
8. You And Your Bleeding Heart
Total Time — 57:00
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