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Friday, May 4, 2012

Leibowitz - The Beginning of the Endless Search for Oblivion


Already have a solo debut with Guitar for Money that was released last year online, it seems that the internet has been the home for up-and-coming bands/artists to release their music and material on; Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and Reverb Nation, to name a few. But for Leibowitz, his follow up album, The Beginning of the Endless Search for Oblivion, a concept album, set in the Sci-Fi universe, about a group called the Fists, who plan to stop corruption from the Music Business by a man named Persona Nongratitus who stole one of their concubines and tries to stop him. So it’s sort of a story set in the Comic-Book world in the realms of the Marvel Universe that could have been written by Stan “The Man” Lee.

The album itself is well made and well produced as Leibowitz carries the sounds of late ‘60s and early ’70 sounds of Baroque, Psychedelic, and Prog all at once with the influences of King Crimson, Cressida, and the Smile-era sessions of the Beach Boys. With hearing loops of the Mellotron and Drum Machines, and the sound of Josh's guitar techniques, Leibowitz himself knows his Progressive musical influences very well and reading comics, fantasy, and a touch of Isaac Asimov.

Opener, We Must Leave the City at Once, takes itself into the melodic groove while having the Retro Rock sound carrying the ‘70s power edge to it as The Fitz featuring Kev Feazey and virtuoso guitarist Matt Stevens, laying down some futuristic upbeat tempos with a sample loop of an alarm synth, that sounds very funky and 21st century resemblance to it, the Organ and Stevens guitar solo, would make you say more. One of the three centerpieces on the Endless Search is Persona Nongratitutus, it has a Beatle-sque ‘60s psych beat tempo with a touch of the Sgt. Pepper sound.

Elsewhere, the chugging acoustical dark tones crisp on A Narrow Escape, has a bit of a heavy uplifting procedure while the 7-minute epic, (get this title) Groove Out at the Grove and the Daring Rescue Attempt of Persona Nongratitutus (Sounds like a Star Trek Episode, doesn’t it?) It has Leibowitz going into a funky hard rock attitude with the 12-bar blues feel as if he was taking the listener for a dance at the prom and having a psych freak out jam session to have the Seniors dance until five o’clock in the morning.

There’s a bit of the Sci-Fi elements in there and suddenly Leibowitz himself could have written this as a Graphic Novel of the album, but he knows his Virtuosity very well and he’s no fluke. He is still going to make it in the Prog circuit one day and go buckwild to make it into outer space and boldly go where no man or prog fan has gone before.

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