“Very solid from A to Z, Move is for fans of the Peak of a very Tangerine Dream Berlin School style. From Sorcerer to Melrose!”
1 Amalthea 7:50 2 Marrakesh 7:51 3 Pangaea 5:58 4 Obsession 10:49 5 Delusion 10:34 6 Move 12:02 7 Visions 7:31 KDR 20171
(CD 63:01) (V.F.) (Soft blend of Berlin School & EDM)
I'm telling you from the start, MOVE is quite a change of direction compared to Distance which was released in 2015. Less rock with a less omnipresent guitar from Max Schiefele, this second album of the German trio Pyramaxx is carried towards an more Berliner EM with structures where the hypnotic and progressive styles of the Berlin School cross an approach always a little bit rock of which the evolution ends sometimes in a kind of EDM. A beautiful album with nice ideas which has everything to seduce the most demanding, because here the signature of Pyramaxx glitters with a little something which feeds the curiosity of our ears.
We are going to explore the new Pyramaxx with a very Berlin School track. The first seconds of Amalthea present a nebulous introduction with a mini concert of twisted metal from where emerges a splendid line of sequenced rhythm a la Tangerine Dream. This rhythm glitters with wide oscillations, sculpturing these perpetual upward movements which rivet us to our armchair. Effects of vaporous voices and other spectral electronic effects decorate this delicious movement which increases a little bit the velocity as the seconds pass. Sequences are very in the Chris Franke model with short adjacent lines which run away from and propose another more nervous alternative. Actives, the synths inject a very creative soundscape with these effects but also with layers in the shape of riffs and some hypnotic harmonic loops which charm and which also lead Amalthea towards a more rock finale. Discreet until then, Max Schiefele feeds the greediness of the percussions with a series of very rock riffs and solos that have made the charms of the previous album and of the first ones of Axess/Maxxess. Amalthea sets the tone to a much diversified album. Marrakesh is a true value with a good electronic rock loaded of the Middle East perfumes. The percussive effects and the organic bass tones are superb on this title which gave me this taste to plunge again into the universe of Paul Haslinger' World Without Rules album. Marrakesh nests in my iPod, section Best titles of 2017, from the first day that my ears met MOVE. Pangaea is not outdone with a good rock as catchy as its very good melody. It's very electronic with a mixture of the Melrose years and a Jean-Michel Jarre in mode seduction for a more adolescent audience. Obsession brings us to another level with a very film intro where bellowing and other effects of voices as well as intense and nerve-racking effects of percussions dominate the atmospheres. A more ethereal phase extricates itself from this magma full of suspense before a light movement of harmonious loops espouse those sequences as frivolous as the evasive melody. What strikes here is this new sound signature of Pyramaxx which is more perceptible in this long evolutionary title. The game and the effects of percussions are no stranger to this signature, as well as this approach of Dance Music marinated in Techno and combined to a Rock very stylized by a decoration raised by a truck of effects. So, it's at each new listening that we rediscover titles as Obsession and Delusion, a little softer with a more present Maxxess here, as well as the surprising Move and its polymorphic structure which sways between quiet vibes and a rock in an impeccable soundscape. By far the most sophisticated of the titles of Pyramaxx! Between the ballad and the cosmic dioramas, Visions ends the album with a nice introduction of atmospheres. Synth waves rise in crescendo, breathing another part of intensity which lies dormant all over the 63 minutes of this Pyramaxx's 2nd album. Adorned of a cosmic landscape, this opening goes overflowing over a delicate movement of sequences which sparkles under breezes become warmer and some harmonies, in the form of solos, coming from the guitar of Maxxess. Evolving by phases in crescendo, Visions accentuates a little the pace, under some delicious knocks of percussions which resound like metallic whips, one of the seductive elements in this album, keeping this hypnotic movement in the spheres of a cosmic ballad. This is very good.
MOVE is in the continuity of the works of Pyramid Peak, guitar in more and a production with a sound aestheticism which transcends a little the style of the Peak. There are very strong moments on this album which should please undoubtedly the fans of the Peak and the fans of a Berlin School style perfumed from the fragrances of Tangerine Dream. From Sorcerer to Melrose!
Sylvain Lupari (June 28th, 2017) *****
Available at Pyramaxx