Evgeny Pobozhiy Orchestra: Stream

When we say “George Knows…� on SOT, we really mean it. Another referral from Mr.Lamie, Stream is the newest from guitarist Evgeny Pobozhiy. This features the dynamic Gergo Borlai on drums, Anton Davidyants on bass, with the added component of string arrangements that work incredibly well with the music. The opening “In The Jungle� should be sufficient, there is soulful saxophone, wonderful orchestration, and Pobozhiy absolutely shredding on guitar. Evgeny uses a clean tone throughout, so he is not hiding anything behind saturation or distortion, this is pure guitar fire, and he rises to the occasion. This combination of orchestration with heavier music is often met with mixed results, but let me tell you this is a powerful album where all the players shine. “Stream� opens with a beautiful string arrangement, although not as powerful as the opener, it shows how a good arrangement combines instrumentation and makes it work. The song builds with saxophone, then strings, as Borlai propels the song.

As a guitar lover, there are a number of tracks where Pobozhiy shines, so don’t think you’ll be deprived of his amazing playing. “Road to the Himalayas� is a mind blower, everything just falls into place, the band is grooving and Evgeny blazes. I love his runs in conjunction with the strings, beautiful and powerful. The moody intro to “Timbuktu� segues into a jazzier section with a lot of interplay, this one is quite playful, and when the guitar kicks in, this gets very playful. Listening not only to the guitar, but all the instrumentation gives you an appreciation for how well composed the music is, everything works so well together. As a sucker for violin, this one really hits home for me, I’ll take more if you’ve got it! One of the surprises is how fiery Evgeny’s playing is during “Blues Noire�, but it features the most subdued music of the bunch. The syncopated intro to “Stranger Things� leads into some wonderful trade-offs between Sax and guitar, and you might as well throw funky into the mix. Listening to “Calumet� I keep thinking this is how it’s supposed to be, and honestly throughout, this does not sound forced in the least. There is no grandstanding or forcing the orchestration, it’s all seamless. The recording is strong right to the end, “Martian Elephants� features more amazing clean guitar, and Borlai stands out here, just listen to his drumming. “Spero Lucem� keeps the momentum in high gear firing on all cylinders right to the end.

Pobozhiy also has another new release on his Bandcamp page Elements for Peace which I hope to get to soon. In the meantime, make sure not to miss Stream, it's amazing! These types of collaborations are rarely this well balanced; no instruments dominate or overshadow each other, expertly composed and arranged.

Track List:
1. In The Jungle
2. Stream
3. Road to the Himalayas
4. Timbuktu
5. Blues Noire
6. Stranger Thoughts
7. Calumet
8. Martian Elephants
9. Spero Lucem

Added: April 29th 2024
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Artists @ Bandcamp
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Language: english

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