"Wow man....play that record again..." - Lady Bezalel, after hearing TGHO for the first time
OK now, right from the start, don't you Genesis fans get too excited. Despite the name, this Finnish band has nothing in common with the band that more than likely inspired their name. With a sound that is best classified as space/prog rock, the influences are quite clear. The band jetties forth, making some better than average progressive instrumental rock, the biggest comparisons will probably be to Pink Floyd, Camel, Frank Zappa's instrumental free jazz albums, Ozric Tentacles and even jazz legends like Stan Getz and Miles Davis. While not the most innovative band to come along this millenium, TGHO have let their influences mesh well into their sound while not coming off as mere copycats.
This is one of those rare prog bands that come along who use almost no keyboard. Some synthesizers can be heard, but very sparsely. But don't let think for a second it is in any way lacking. The overall sound of the album is still surprisingly rich as they have replaced keyboards with flute, Didgeridoo, and other world tribal instrumentations and the ever present two guitars that dominate their sound. Jyri Traskelin's flute playing is very beautiful and I see a resemblance to Andy Latimer's playing, evenIan Anderson's in a couple of places. The mood of the album is somewhat melancholic, as well expected for the genre, but it's not that dark to be honest. Most of the songs are quite mellow, only "Terästulli" is much heavier, almost space-metal on some of the parts.
"Arabia" is a very short acoustic track (0:49), the guitar has a fat great tone and the melody is quite enjoyable. However, it's the second song, "Spirals" that really gets the album going. My personal favorite from this album, although it's the most Floydian track here. Very melancholic, with lots of flute and great, emotional guitar playing. In the end there's a great climax, with a bit heavier guitar riff. "Terästulli" is clearly the heaviest track here, I don't like it as much as the other two longer tracks, but it's still quite enjoyable. There are hints of fusion and space-metal in this track. "Pelham" is a very beautiful and jazzy tune, the flute really shines here. "Halogen" is the longest track here. It's based around a simple bass-line, with the two guitars and flute almost improvising, great jamming from start to finish. There's a great moog solo in the song, approaching the canterbury/fusion field. The album ends with "Exit", which is very similar to "Arabia". A nice song with lots of flute and acoustic guitar.
This sort of music is right up my alley, and I enjoyed the album tremendously. I hope you do, too.
Band: The Giant Hogweed Orchestra
Album: S/T
Label:Mellow Records
Genre: Space Rock/Prog rock/Progressive metal
By Bez
TGHO - self titled by Bez for SurrealSoundZ
