RHYS MARSH: October After All (POP): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Rhys Marsh is one of those complete and versatile artists. Singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer, the world of music no longer has any mystery for the English. Already leader of The Autumn Ghost, and also involved in Kaukasus and Mandala, the British resident in Norway recently tried his hand at solo. And this solo career has gained momentum over the years, as evidenced by the release of the first three albums since 2013. February 2019 will therefore be the month in which this project becomes a reality for Rhys Marsh, who, with "October After All", demonstrates his desire to give more importance to his solo career.

With his album "Sentiment" released in 2014, the artist released one of his darkest and most progressive albums according to him. It's hard to talk about progressive rock strictly speaking. In any case, this new album continues to explore the territories mentioned in "Sentiment", with melancholic, even dramatic pop sounds.

Throughout the disc, we observe interesting and unconsensual chord progressions that diverge from the usual sounds in this style of music. In this vein, 'River', which opens the album, has a very catchy side despite its rather unexpected but well clever chorus. 'The Summer Days' shares the same spirit with its Mellotron and its uncommon successions of chords.

But it is certainly on the slower and more painful pieces that the composer is most convincing. The very deep'Golden Lullabies' embodies this side perfectly, with its predominant polyphonic singing and its saxophone interventions. In the same vein, '(It Will Be) October After All' is a great success of the album. In this longest track with his seven minutes, the melodies unfold a dark universe with mysterious keyboards and one more time a saxophone solo.

But there are also more colourful tracks. Thus, 'Long Way Back' has a part of electro-pop close to 'Metronomy'. "Ride The New Wave" could have been part of 'Girls In Hawaii's "Everest" album with its chorus of electro sounds. There are even acoustic passages like on 'The Butterflies' with its keyboard faithful to the sound of Phideaux.

"October After All" is a record that we take pleasure in discovering and rediscovering. Accessible, well thought-out, sensitive and profound, the latest Rhys Marsh is a beautiful album that makes you want to immerse yourself in the discography of its creator. - Official website

RHYS MARSH

OCTOBER AFTER ALL

KARISMA RECORDS

POP