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review by Dene Bebbington Shaped Signs (the German duo Volker Kaufmann and Ron Grahnert) have created a marvellous and dramatic journey through nature via the vehicle of music. Using electric guitar as the lead instrument, this album has the kind of melodramatic power one often seems to get from German musicians - Helmut Teubner, Tangerine Dream, and Axxess/Maxxess spring to mind. It comes across as a loving homage to mother nature and all the beauty and greatness she has to offer. Twelve tracks make up this slightly more than hour-long album, which starts off with "Sunrise", finishes with the day's close in "Sunset", and in between covers parts of nature such as rainforests, lakes, oceans, and the atmosphere. This is no gentle journey though. The guitar is not used to create slowly flowing ambience, instead it's often played with the enthusiasm of rock music, yet avoids lapsing into prog rock. Adding to the sonic mix are drums, synths, piano, and some samples of voices, nature sounds etc. The opening track, "Sunrise", sets the scene (pun intended!) for what is to come as synths, voices, and waves breaking create an air of expectation before an electric guitar comes in with a stirring riff that exudes hope for a new day now the sun once again fills the world with light. At this early stage, I was reminded a little of Mike Oldfield in the way he mixed guitar and synths in The Songs of Distant Earth; though Shaped Signs are generally more heavy on the guitar than Oldfield. Shaped Signs often have the guitar working in majestic and celebratory mode, but there are some tender (relatively speaking) moods, such as when the piano takes the lead in the short piece "Ice". Overall, though, this is a rousing hour of music with some great riffs, atmospherics (the short piece "Aurora" is superb), rhythms and melodies that grab the listener to demand his attention. I found Nature's Odyssey to be a musical breath of fresh air thanks to its power and eulogistic reverence for nature. I don't usually get to see the sun rising but if I ever do then I'm sure the opening track of this album will be recalled to remind me what a great, if common, occurrence it is. The second half of this album is, in my opinion, not quite up to the standard set in the first six tracks, [but] even so, it gets my wholehearted recommendation - and as a bonus it gives you the chance to get the air guitar out for a work out! |
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