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Review:
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This is a new Spanish five piece band featuring a female
Dutch singer who sings in English. The keyboard player Jordi
Amela and guitarist Jordi Prats (the name Jordi is in Barcelona
something special, that’s why Johan Cruijff named his son
also Jordi) are known names because they were members of
Spanish progrock formation Drackma. Their debut CD entitled
Underground Community contains 13 tracks (running time 55
minutes) including the cover Waiting To Happen by Marillion.
This is no coincidence because Harvest was the support-act
of Marillion during a gig in Barcelona . And just like Marillion
on their album Holidays In Eden, Harvest delivers song-oriented
music with an almost cinematic atmosphere and pleasant vocal
lines. Most of the songs have a laidback climate or slow
rhythms with the focus on singer Monique Van Der Kolk, a
Dutch woman who went to Barcelona on her 20th and started
this musical project. With her pure voice Monique colours
the music in a very pleasant and emotional way, from lingering
to romantic. The guitar work is pretty functional but we
can enjoy some moving and compelling solos like in Beyond
The Desert (sensitive with hints from Neil Young), No Return
(with the use of slide and sustain) and She Tries (between
Rothery and Latimer). The guitar sounds more powerful in
Mara (intense riffs and in the end a heavy solo with fiery
runs) and the mid-tempo song The Horizon (fat rock guitar).
The keyboards sound subdued, from soaring keyboards and
tender piano to soft synthesizer flights but I like the
way these keyboards are blended into the music. I would
like to describe Harvest their wonderful sound as “progressive
pop for romantics”.
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars! [3 of 5 Stars!]
Erik
Neuteboom
Progwalhalla.nl
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