Madlen Keys’ Event Horizon is a very modern French progressive (for want of a better term) rock album, infused with pop sensitivities, deeply grooved electric guitar sounds, Medieval drama, occasional quiet acoustic moments, and the incredible vocals of Caroline Calen. It’s all stitched into a tight melodic tapestry, with music that is (to quote the great Steve Hackett) “determined to strive beyond existing stagnant music forms.”
My friend Kilda Defnut says of Event Horizon: “This music floats into clouds and then touches terra firma with equally dense ballast.” Sure. But I hear the really interesting notes found between the record grooves of Annie Haslam and Renaissance during their most interesting Scheherazade Tales.
The very first song, “The Maze,” serves as a nice glimpse into the music that follows. It’s a somewhat complex (multi-tracked) vocal melody grafted onto an airborne instrumental backing that swirls, churns, and pulses with melodic patience. This is heavy gossamer stuff.
And then things get even more interesting. “Breathe” is cerebral with a Pink Floyd “Echoes” vibe. Caroline Calen’s voice does recall Annie Haslam’s soaring power that’s always laced with gentle punctuation marks. Perhaps there’s a bit of Kate Bush in there, too. Madlen Keys’ instrumentation drifts between languid thoughts and strident electric guitar chords. Nice.
The songs continue to delve even deeper into some sort of alluring dimension with “Flaming Tree,” where vocals begin with a childlike whisper but, again, soon defy physics with their own melodic gravity. A piano dances softly, and the electric guitar (thank you, Baptiste Mottais!) leaves Earth orbit and rips through time and space and ventures into the psych atmosphere of a newly discovered volcanic planet. It’s really quite impressive.
Yeah, Madlen Keys offers pretty great progressive (still in want of a better term) rock music. Perhaps, some sultan, in an alternative universe, demanded 200 nights of Scheherazade’s sultry voice, as “Keep a Secret” begins with a slightly vibed Eastern vocal, and then the immense tune continues into a sitar solo backed with tabla percussion. Nice, again! And as the vocals descend into darkness, synth strings create a lovely cinematic juxtaposed drama, while that gentle piano still softly dances its quiet approval to this wonderful wild ride.
Gregoire Lozach’s bass thumps an introduction for “The Stream,” while Calen finds yet another cerebral vocal melody, darkness again cloaks the grooves, the band raises an eerie crescendo of sound, and Antoine Geremia’s piano touches the gentle waves of an eternal shoreline. Of course, a few electronics flit here and there, tough guitar chords, again, accent the tune, and Yann Pousset’s percussion anchors this “saucer” that may, indeed, be filled with “secrets.”
Madlen Keys continues to caress the ever-shifting tectonic plates. “Memories of My Friends” slows time and floats on the beauty of acoustic guitar and a lonely votive vocal, which surrenders to the big band heavy guitar solo that embraces the stern magic of ancient rock carved passion. Then “Ubik” digs into deeper emotions and excavates a fossilized siren’s song with a heavy nod to any Furies’ frustration. This is heavy stuff.
The final song, the French voiced “Pensando En Ti,” thankfully lands Event Horizon on the Sea of Tranquility – metaphorically speaking. A quiet spectral vocal is haloed by a quasi-Medieval harmony and an acoustic guitar, as the music swarms with a warm cathedral spectral embrace that balances all the dense ballast into a really nice and majestically melodic soft landing.
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