Néodyme - "La Tour" Review

Artist/ Band: Néodyme
Title: La Tour
Label: Self release
Year of Release: 2010
Offical Artist/ Band Link

The Review:

Néodyme is an instrumental band from Quebec (Sainte-Julie) that encompasses a mix of progressive rock/metal and jazz. According to their MySpace page the band is a quartet which consists of Daniel Giguère (drums), Maryse Pepin (keyboards), Alexandre "Ron" Champagne (guitars), and Mathieu Boucher (bass). Their second album, La Tour was released quietly in 2010.

The album is comprised of 11 tracks that range in length from about 2 to 10 minutes. One of my favorites of the album is the longest track, “C’est Dans la Tour”. It’s a track that I feel best shows the band’s composing skills and best represents the overall sound on La Tour. Another would be the dark and moody “Motion Circulaire” (4:08).

This album is filled with many new discoveries each time I listen to it. It requires several listens to fully appreciate the beauty of the music. Once you hear this album, you’ll agree it’s one of the best instrumental albums of 2010. I’d highly recommend this to fans of Spaced Out, and other instrumental bands on the Unicorn Digital label. (In my opinion, Néodyme would be a perfect addition to that label).

Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on November 20th, 2010

Tracks:

01. Asile (Asylum)

02. La Descente (The Descent)

03. C'est Dans La Tour (It's In The Tower)

04. Solitude (Loneliness)

05. Casse-tete (Break Head)

06. Laissez-Passer A38 (A38 Pass)

07. Motion Circulaire (Circle Motion)

08. Eclipsee (Esclipse)

09. Montagnes Russes (Roller Coaster)

10. Neodyme En Fusion: 1297 K (Melting Neodymium: 1297 K)

11. La Breache... (The Gap...)