KARIBOW: From Here To The Impossible (PROGRESSIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Karibow, the multi-instrumentalist Oliver Rüsing's multi-faceted project, delivers a new and generous album ("From Here To The Impossible", 72 minutes long), barely more than a year after the already pantagruelic "Holophinium". In twenty years spent in the music world, Rüsing has built up a nice address book and has succeeded here in getting Unitopia's (momentary?) enemies, Sean Timms and Mark Trueack, to participate. The presence of other prestigious guests (Jim Gilmour from Saga on keyboards, Marek Arnold from Seven Steps To The Green Door and Toxic Smile, Monique van der Kolk, singer of the band Harvest, and Daniel Lopresto, Sean Timms' accomplice in Southern Empire) completes the curiosity around this project, built around a concept evoking the difficulty of fulfilling one's youthful dreams. Quite a programme.

Musically, Oliver Rüsing has never hidden his attachment to AOR. In fact, Karibow has oscillated between several trends since its creation, from hard to electro and more mainstream albums. The result here is a rather hybrid object, the vocal parts being immediately catchy (the federating chorus of 'System of a Dream'), with vocals often treated in a pop way, and instrumental parts that venture more into the domain of neo-progressive: 'My Time of Your Life' is the prototype of these composite but perfectly mastered tracks. The more the album progresses, the more progressive the tone becomes, as witnessed by the ambitious 'Black Air' or the long final track.

Karibow uses a wide instrumental palette (a good point for the excellent Marek Arnold who has a beautiful score on 'Black Air'), relies on soft keyboards a bit like Toto or Mike and The Mechanics, knows how to use sharp guitars to dynamise the subject (Saga is never far away: Oliver provides a good part of the vocals, but Mark Trueack's presence ('The Impossible') and the contrast with Monique van der Kolk's delicate timbre are an undeniable plus. Almost every track has a moment of glory for the drums, which are quite prominent in the mix (drums are Oliver Rüsing's first instrument), and the keyboards are not forgotten, with a nice crazy solo by Sean Timms at the end of 'System of a Dream'.

So, here's a melodically catchy album (ah, the nice light riff of 'Inside You'!), which only lacks a hint of originality (the finished product lacks a bit of signature) and a bit of instrumental ambition to reach excellence. Recommended but not unavoidable... - Official website

KARIBOW

FROM HERE TO THE IMPOSSIBLE

PROGRESSIVE PROMOTION

PROGRESSIVE ROCK