Like a cross between Syd Barret and Prince “Light the Night” opens up the Chant EP by Violet Intent, Bobby McDonald’s project from Cape Cod’s version of the Bermuda Triangle. With dense production the song oozes across its four minutes and eleven seconds of trance-rock and displays Violet Intent’s mission in no uncertain terms.
“The Fear, the Love, the Sky” pulls back and goes a bit darker resplendent in fuzz-tone guitar and what feels like a news broadcast. The 3:26 has an added 1:26 as a sort of reprise / instrumental redux with sound effects on F, L, S Part II, an underground version of George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity” Version 1 and 2 or maybe John Lennon’s multiple “Revolution” versions on the White Album. The entire EP coming in at 35:06 is actually the length of a vinyl disc, this music lending itself well to vinyl.
Tribal drums underline “Darkly Shining” which pushes and pulls like tide waves, creatively adding drama with wonder, like a spacecraft that should have found itself tumbling into Sandra Bullock in Gravity, indeed, this collection would have made a nice soundtrack to that celebrated motion picture. The instrumental, one minute and eighteen second “Pause” is but a prelude, and nice segue, to track 6, “Daydream.” This excursion utilizes a bit of ocean noise or static, only to come in like Steve Winwood’s “When You See a Chance” while then evolving into Klaatu. Think “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft.”
“Dr. Kyte’s Gravity Shop” emulates Kratwerk more than a mirror look at Sgt. Pepper’s Mr. Kite, while track 8, “Pink Moon,” concludes the set with controlled cacophony and intentionally layered fuzz production to put the vocals into a Rolling Stones “2000 Light Years from Home” mood. All in all, a very nice package for those of us who like to hear trippy music that expands the mind without strange substances.
Joe Viglione is the Chief Film Critic at TMRZoo.com. He has written thousands of reviews and biographies for AllMovie.com, Allmusic.com, Gatehouse Media, Al Aronowitz’s The Blacklisted Journal, and a variety of other media outlets. Joe also produces and hosts Visual Radio, a seventeen year old variety show on cable TV which has interviewed Jodie Foster, director/screenwriter David Koepp, Michael Moore, John Cena, comics/actors Margaret Cho, Gilbert Gottfried, Gallagher, musicians Mark Farner and Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad, Ian Hunter of Mott The Hoople, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore, Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals, political commentator Bill Press and hundreds of other personalities.
