Iolite

If you're looking for a way to jazz up and give your life soul, I'd suggest checking the musical efforts of Iolite. From the first notes hitting my ears, it was obvious that this CD is mature and the art is real.

On Night, the soulful vocals soothe whatever is not right in the world. The instrumentation is peaceful and perfect. The trumpet solo is just right. On Be Wise, they embark into a more world music feel and genre. Its full of percussion and muted trumpets. The vocals are put nicely in their place and the piano excels.

On later track, Rooms, they bring in some good old fashioned soul to the mix. The warble of the guitars are a nice touch.

There seems to be a real sense of production and gloss with Iolite. They know how to compose and turn art in to something the masses can enjoy and be moved by.

RATING: 5 of 5 stars

Pligrimage - Haakon's Fault

From the Big Apple hails the up and coming rock outfit, Haakon's Fault. They're a 5-piece, unique blend of progressive pop-rock that combines varied elements to create a sound only you can experience by listening to the CD (or seeing them live, i would imagine).

On their album, Pilgrimage, they open with the title track and unleash great drum grooves and musical interplay that hasn't been heard on the music scene in far too long. Its part JellyFish, part Alice in Chains, part Incubus, and part Phish. So, you do the math!

On Star Gazing they kick it off in more of a jam-band vein that is reminiscent of Pseudopod. Its got all of the jam elements with a more gentle bent. Siren brings in more intense guitar work. Its all in all grittier which is an interesting contrast to the low vocals.

The album's closer, Glory, is a nice acoustic track with a very live feel that ends well. All in all, the record is produced with pristine quality. You can obviously tell that these guys are all extremely talented players in their own rights, and they make it work as they play together in a band.

If you don't own Pilgrimage, go get a copy!

RATING: 4.5 of 5 stars