Published on: 27 Apr 2008

I've listened to countless one man musical projects in my life. Many times, there is something lacking: in the musicianship, in the musical composition, in the lyrics or a vague «je-ne-sais-quoi» which annoyed me. I encountered nothing of that sort with Disrepair Part One – Permafrost Dreams by the Australian Eddie Katz, whose project he named with the oxymoron Mechanical Organic. It is a many layered great listening extravaganza. I'm deeply impressed by what he created, if I haven't read the press release, I would have swear it was a five musicians band. He produces what seems to be a wall of sounds.

This project is also interesting at another level. If you are interested in SF or in conspiracy theory on a grand scale, you'll be in for a treat. In the SF vein, the lyrics and the soundscapes are, IMO, very near the universe of Philip K. Dick in his Counterfeit Unrealities which mean near us but fictitious. On the other hand, if you are found of conspiracy theories (BTW, the best conspiracies are unknown, that's their nature and the peril they represent…) the lyrics depict what could be called the new crimes against humanity in our context of permanent disinformation with superb music to support this line of storytelling.

This opus is musically structured as a sequence of narrations each followed by more substantial musical pieces. The overall sound is rather heavy, but without the contribution of guitars. This creates a very melodic whole more akin to progressive rock than to metal music. We are far here from commercial music, but it is still a rather easy listen due to its great qualities. The theme of criminal minds attacking humanity is also very much in harmony with the spirit of many founding progressive bands (like KC or Genesis, for example).

I recommend strongly this CD for those of you who are searching for new progressive sounds or if you like the aforementioned SF and conspiracy stories wrapped in very good music.

http://www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=26197