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Writer's pictureSylvain Lupari

PERGE: Catharsis (The Secret Tapes Vol.3) (2017)

Once again, Perge strikes at the right spot with their vision of Encore in Catharsis, another jewel in the official Perge Tree

1 Okefenokee Lane 19:18 2 Monoglot 21:40 3 Drywater Ravine 15:55 4 Dessert Cream 21:00 Perge Music (CD/DDL 77:53) (Berlin School) (V.F.)

How to interpret the title of the last album from the British duet Perge? Catharsis means, either the separation of the good from the bad or yet, in the field of the art, an emotional recollection. Taken from the legendary The Secret Tapes, CATHARSIS is a live album recorded during the North American tour of Perge in the other side of our universe. A tour shortened because, according to the legend, Graham Getty broke an arm during a horse ride in the vast and sandy American Western territories.

And from the first mists of Okefenokee Lane's mistral dust, the recollections of Cherokee Lane fill our ears and arouse our nostalgia. It's an astounding emotional reminder with a more intense opening which has a little darker perfumes. The movement of the sequencer and its legendary kicks are in accordance in every respect with this title which opened the shows of Tangerine Dream in our universe. To me, Perge is not of the plagiarism! It's rather the extension of TD in a parallel universe to ours. Thus, our friends of this zone which is judged at risk (few have returned alive from there) have the same as us: hear and see Tangerine Dream. The sound is harder, the rhythms are steadier and the synth solos are clearly more plentiful here with a light difference in the accentuation of the effects and the intense passages. The good stays always the good and the bad does not exist here. The introduction of Monoglot breathes that of Monolight. Except that instead of falling in a sort of sacrilege by playing with a shadowy difference this wonderful melody, Perge goes for a rough and furious electronic beat of the 70's for the most part of the 21 minutes of the title. The intro and the finale are rendered by Matthew Stringer's very beautiful piano. Is Drywater Ravine the sarcastic penchant of Coldwater Canyon? Even if it's very tempting to say yes, it is so obvious, I'll go with a not really! The rhythm is heavier, more supported with good percussive effects which made me come from both ears. It's a solid electronic rock where the synth solos replace those of a guitar with beautiful effects of reverberating in the loops. Built on the same principles of sonic strangeness with effects as much intriguing as frightening, Dessert Cream has little in common with Desert Dream. If the movement of the slow and metronomic rhythm is similar, the effects and the structure propose a more avant-gardist approach. The vibes are more glaucous with more effects of outer-world and the music proposes more melodic plans while the finale explodes with a very good movement of the sequencer. A curt and jerky movement which tears out the embraces of the Gothic voices layers.

In the end, CATHARSIS is a pretty solid emotional recollection where little by little Perge gets rid of Tangerine Dream's shadows of their album Encore in order to offer a concert of which the similarities coexist with more charms than annoyances. The absence of guitar can be explained by the very big mark of respect that Graham Getty and Matthew Stringer dedicate to the legendary Edgar Froese. And this doesn't affect at all the depth of this album which put in value some wonderful synth solos and a great sequencing pattern as much judicious that of Chris Franke. If you like the music of Perge you will devour CATHARSIS. As for those who don't know yet the music of the English duet or who still have prejudices in front of a kind of plagiarism which, in my opinion, is unfounded, I strongly invite you to discover a music which completes marvelously the splendid discoveries of Tangerine Tree. Available on the Bandcamp site of Perge as a download or in 2 colors Pro CD-r and in Pic Disc Vinyl Style Pro CD-r.

Sylvain Lupari (September 30th, 2017) ****¼*

Available at Perge Bandcamp

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