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Matt Stevens: Lucid
ByStevens dishes out a wholesome progressive-rock soup atop bone-crushing bass lines, offbeat metrics and intricately maneuvered chord voicings. On "The Ascent," hints of Crimson's "Starless and Bible Black" come to fruition amid his highly wound soloing and super-speed breakouts. Yet Stevens is a man of many contrasts as he inserts placid acoustic-electric guitar interludes during "Coulrophobia," and "KEA," framed on staggered flows and a myriad of melodic nuances with linear phrasings. However, "The Bridge," is another pounding, foot-stomping blowout, tinted with a psychedelic inferences and a hypnotic circular pattern complete with crackling effects. Here, Stevens diminishes the intensity within the bridge section via a quiet motif and brings it all back home with some bravado, leading to a punishing groove towards the finale. Thus, Lucid is an alluring effort as the guitarist infuses the glory days of progressive rock with a personal touch, coupled with unexpected detours, keenly placed hues and a penchant for supplying the KO punch on a number of occasions.
Track Listing
Oxymoron; Flow; Unsettled; The Other Side; The Ascent; Coulrophobia; Lucid; KEA; Street And Circus; The Bridge; A Boy.
Personnel
Matt Stevens
guitarMatt Stevens: guitar, loops, bass, DL4, bells; Charlie Cawood: bass; Stuart Marshall: drums; Chrissie Caulfield: violin; Kevin Feazey: programming; Jem Godfrey: keyboards; Lorenzo Feliciati: bass; Pat Mastelotto: drums; Jon Hart: vibraphone; Emmett Elvin: keyboards; Nicholas Wyatt Duke: spoken word.
Album information
Title: Lucid | Year Released: 2014 | Record Label: Cherry Red Records