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Expose Magazine, March 2005 Land of Chocolate is a
four piece that hails from Chapel Hill, NC (home of the annual ProgDay
festival). The quartet is fronted by vocalist and keyboardist Jonn Buzby,
the younger brother of Chris Buzby (Echolyn) while guitarist John Covach has
been a longtime contributor to Progression Magazine. Regaining the
Feel is the band’s second CD with ten upfront sophisticated rock
arrangements. For example, on “The Pursuit of Happiness”, drummer Wes Hare
incorporates a vibes part that works well in context of the piece. Buzby’s
lead vocal is the focal point of many of the songs which compare favorably
to recent echolyn releases. All the tracks are group composed and arranged
which shows the players all have a strong individual stake in the songs.
Clever word play and harmonies work well on the title track that opens with
a bass driven riff that springs off heavy organ and tight kit drumming.
“Counting Sand” is an odd jazz based ballad with the CD’s best harmony
vocals closing out the track. Covach gets some room to stretch out with some
blistering leads on the quirky “Military Mindset”. Closing out the disc is a
tour de force mini-classic, “Ungrateful” that relies on many familiar
changes to create themes that are blues based as well as semi-classical.
Overall the quartet seems to have its niche well defined as this will appeal
heavily to the neo-prog and echolyn fan bases. – Jeff Melton Progression Magazine, Summer/Fall 2004; rated 14.5 out of 16 stars possible Chocolate heads have been waiting three years for a follow up to the dark-horse surprise Unikorn on the Cob. Meanwhile, Jonn Buzby has completely re-tooled the band, which now includes Progression's very own John Covach in the guitar chair. The title of this is well chosen, for J.B. and company have not yet completely regained the feel (some sort of internal spasm must have been the progenitor of such a drastic house-cleaning and protracted absence). This is not to suggest that they have been cursed with the 'ol sophomore gremlin--no way. Hallmarks of the "Philly tandem" (the family of bands including echolyn and Finneus Gauge) are present--the heart-stopping vocal ensemble passages, the pan-chromatic harmonic/melodic architecture, and those not-toe-tapping grooves and counter grooves. But missed are the sure-fire production skills of Brett Kull, for gone are his spot-on sonics, and charming, willy-nilly little experiments that popped up on Cob like sprinkles on the icing. The title cut indulges in some unabashed "non-whiteness" with its funky urban strut. Hear the Prof feel those frets in "Military Mindset," and check out his impressionistic intro on "Mechanical Pencil," the disc's lone all-instrumental track. This is a superb, highquality product for a "rebound" album. I'm interested in seeing where they take all this. But for now, Regaining the Feel is definitely worth a spin. - John Patrick The Independent (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill), December 2004 Prog is tough. For the casual rock fan, it's overflamboyant, overindulgent stuff that's too difficult to follow, though it may, on occasion, yield a gem of "Tom Sawyer" stature. For a serious rock fan with a natural allegiance to one of several hundred subgenres, it's either pure anathema or pure bliss. There's rarely any sort of midpoint with prog rock. And so it goes for those who make it. For musicians, prog is simultaneously the ultimate genre-conforming expression of instrumental dexterity and compositional enlightenment and an open invitation to turn screws on the necessarily loose lid of rock to the extreme right-hand position. It either builds naturally to near-scientific perfection (Genesis at its best) or it sounds methodically concocted in a laboratory (see below). So it goes with Chapel Hill's Land of Chocolate, a prog band so concerned with lock-and-key instrumental prowess and maneuvering that the songs end up concerned more with professionalism than passion. But there is plenty to admire here. Sticking true to the goals of progressive rock, forms are wide open for Regaining the Feel and some of the ideas (see the synthesized xylophone of "Pursuit of Happiness") are more than clever. Bold maneuvers abound, as "Killing with Kindness" spontaneously morphs from a driving drum crack to a sludgy, organ-soaked anthem. The playing follows suit. Wes Hare is an incredible drummer who--despite being the sole member lacking in vocal responsibilities--turns in the disc's standout performance, pulling off a flabbergasting fist-flying run during the conclusion of "Film at 11." His playing doesn't seem twice-baked and overpracticed; it runs with natural confidence bolstered by whipsmart perfection. And none of the above is to argue that most of Jonn Buzby's arrangements aren't remarkable. The math shift that splits "Pursuit of Happiness" is an oddly perfect organ, and the funky organ washes coursing through "Regaining the Feel" come soaked in equal aliquots of acid hyperactivity and measured melody. John Covach has his best moments in the latter, driving through the fancy-free high-end runs on a six string with stinging tone. The lid is pretty tight here, but the brain swirling beneath is hyperactive and able. - Grayson Currin Unikorn on the Cob Album Reviews http://www.rockzone.com/ The radio single has killed good music. Does anyone remember when bands wrote no song under 5 minutes? Does convenient packaging have to apply to art now? These are questions that the people in Land Of Chocolate haven't thought about. With only three songs under five minutes, these guys lay down a groundwork for a song and proceed to go through all the essential steps of making a captivating song. There are no abrupt ends, just songs that flow smoothly and pull you in. The album opens with Musical Findings. This songs is something we can all relate to, using songs as a way to capture memories. How many times do you hear a song and remember an exact moment in time? Combine these thoughts with some music in the strain of Mr. Bungle and you are given a captivating piece of music. The music on this album has many sounds to it, but the meshing of jazz-based bass lines, heavy riffs, and melodic vocals gives it a twist only found in a band like Mr. Bungle. The music is hectic, but well thought out. It's a controlled chaos few bands can pull off. Double Standard Booth was the track that really pulled me into the mix. The sound is always moving and the vocals shine on the track. We Love You Lots is in the same mood. It's always changing and adds so many moods and feelings into one song. In a time when most bands wouldn't dare to add multiple moods into one songs, Land Of Chocolate creates an emotional landscape in their songs that will certainly intrigue listeners and give them a treat. This is something definitely worth checking out. http://www.progressiveworld.net/ Land Of Chocolate is yet another off-shoot from the talented guys of Echolyn. This time it's Jonn Buzby (brother of Christopher Buzby?), along with Brett Kull producing. In any case, Land of Chocolate definitely sounds Echolyn-ish, the music being quirky and complex, with a strong concentration on vocal harmonies. But the songs themselves move in different directions than what might be typical of Echolyn compositions, meaning that you get to have your cake and eat it, too: great rockin' prog in the tradition of Echolyn, but with a new sound. How can you beat that? Most of the music either drives hard, such as the tracks "Musical Findings" and "Upping the Ante," or takes on a funky edge, as in the tracks "Waiting for the Go" and "Double Standard Booth." Bits of jazz flavoring pop in and out of the tracks, too. As you may have guessed, there's a lot going on here, plenty to keep prog-heads coming back for multiple spins, with new discoveries always around the corner. Still, although several of the tracks are in the seven- to eight-minute range, no epics make an appearance -- which just goes to show that you don't need to compose huge suites to write successful prog. Along with the trickier songs, there are a couple of gentler tracks, like the melodious "Walk Fast," which, despite the prog heritage, would satisfy listeners with more mainstream tastes. There's also the dreamy "Broken Record," which features spacey guitars and Beatles-esque choruses. Then, to break any lull in the proceedings, the eerie and lyrically disturbing "Making Friends" -- which could easily find a home on the next Residents album -- rockets off in a completely new direction. A cool instrumental, the title track "Unicorn on the Kob" (yes, I know that the song title is spelled differently from the album title; that's not a mistake on my part) even makes an appearance. In any case, when all is said and done, how can you not like an album on which a voice suddenly and proudly proclaims "I don't want to sound like a queer or nothin', but I think unicorns are kick ass!" http://www.progweed.net/ Some of the names here might seem familiar to you. Jonn Buzby, the former drummer of Finneus Gauge and Jordan Perlson of Echolyn are joined here by members of the Virginia based fIVE pOST fENCE. As you can expect with this background, the music is somewhat similar to that of the member's former bands; complex, yet melodic with a touch of fusion and a more symphonic edge and plenty of vocal harmonies. Buzby switches over from behind the drum kit to play keyboards, and does an admirable job in this transition. Shifting signatures and tempos abound, always keeping the flow organic. This is a tight group that melds their great playing with good song writing. Perlson's tremendous effort leaves plenty of space for the others to work with, and all the members compliment themselves nicely. There are plenty of fast and furious sections for the band to let loose in, with choppy guitars and keys and crashing cymbals. "Musical Findings" starts out the album with a excellent intro leading into what is a very catchy piece with plenty of infectious groves. The whole album is filled with the band's good natured 'low-brow' sense of humor (you thought Unikorn On The Cob was a serious title?). "Upping The Ante" is filled with both punchy, aggressive passages and fusion tinged ones and a lot of nice keyboard runs. The standout track on an album with many solid pieces is the instrumental "Unikorn On The Kob". The band stretches out here and experiments with a few different styles. An atmospheric opening gives way to a dense, Crimson-like passage. Jonn Buzby really gets to show off his keyboard playing on this track. The one drawback of the album is that there are too many vocals through out, not leaving enough space for the players to stretch out, as evidence in the title track. Buzby has an adequate voice, somewhat reminiscent of Neil Morse, and while it doesn't bother me, I think that this group of skilled players could benefit from scaling down on the vocals and concentrating more on instrumental work. An excellent debut album from a promising band which comes recommended. Zoltan's Progressive Rock Page Land of Chocolate is a 4-piece project that includes Jonn Buzby of Finneus Gauge, and Jordan Perlson of Echolyn. This project originally started after Jonn, tired of playing drums, decided to write some songs on keyboards for a future solo project. After finding 3 other musicians interested in his compositions, the "solo idea" quickly turned into a band effort. Unikorn on a Cob consists of 10 tracks that average about 6-minutes each. The vocals, which really stand out here, seem influenced by Echolyn. For those of you not familiar with Echolyn's vocal-heavy style, try to imagine the vocal interplay found on most Gentle Giant albums mixed with a unique sense of dissonance that is quickly likeable. The music, on the other hand, is a different story. It's hard to describe, but if you can imagine a modern style of progressive jazz-fusion(light on the jazz) influenced by Gentle Giant, and some of the musical passages found on Dream Theater's Scenes from a Memory you'll have some idea of what these guys sound like. The interplay between guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums is tight, somewhat frantic, and eclectic. Not to mention, that the production is top-notch(Brett Kull of Echolyn produced the CD). What really impressed me here is that as prog-ish as the music sounds, I could see this band playing in front of college kids, and actually get respect. Their overall sound is modern, heavy(yet not metal), and catchy. In my opinion, the lyrics seemed to have been written for a wider audience rather than for prog fans. They tend to talk about relationships, or feature gen-X humor. Most of the tracks feature enough dissonance, complexity, and musical surprises to please prog fans, yet not enough to scare non-prog fans away. My only complaint here, is that a couple of tracks are too commercial for my tastes. Otherwise, this is some good stuff, and I recommend Land of Chocolate to fans of Echolyn, and Finneus Gauge. If you're not familiar with those two groups, the band website has some sound samples. from Carlos Tavares' Progspace: http://www.geocities.com/progspace/ One of my favorite albums from last year was echolyn's COWBOY POEMS FREE due to the pleasant blend of progressive and fusion textures and Americana imagery. Land of Chocolate (LOC) follow in the same footsteps. Part of the reason for this has to do with genes. Chris Buzby (echolyn keyboardist) is LOC's keyboardist, Jonn Buzby, elder brother and both have played in the defunct finneus gauge. To stir things up echolyn guitarist Brett Kull was called in for the production chair. An 8-minute track, musical findings, commences the album with the mentioned prog fusion flavor which here has a tremendous rhythm section driven by drummer Jordan Perlson (echolyn) and bassist John Jenns. My favorite tracks are waiting for the go, since it reminisces the finneus gauge period an the instrumental title track unikorn on the cob for the experimentation involved. The cool keyboard sounds and vocal harmonies (on the first) have something to do with it. These nice features are also present in the double standard booth while in walk fast a soothing fusion takes the listener to the mat. In a similar fashion as the latter broken record has some acoustic guitar splashes amidst some nice vocals and spacey guitars. Land of Chocolate experiment with sound a bit more than echolyn but impress less in the lyrical side, however musically they move me. from Acid Attack: http://freespace.virgin.net/martin.jones10/info.htm When I first played this I went, oh no not another prog rock album. But I listen to everything several times before I review it and this one grew and grew in my estimation. So, yes, it is a prog-rock album but it has a sense of humour, it has nice Zappa-esque touches,a slight jazz influence, a hint of Adrian Belew, that makes it stand out. It also has good genes, former members of Finneus Gauge and Echolyn are involved, though the music of those two bands isn't known to me the label that they came out on in the UK, Cyclops, is and, though I'm sure they know about the band, I passed the name along. For this deserves to find a wider world audience. It just has 'quality', a certain something that nags at you. Lyrically it sounds strong, not apparently mired in a disasterous concept that hamstrings so much stuff in this field, just good individual songs, (joy, the lyrics are included The joy of reviewing is finding the real good stuff out there that no one has heard of and this is one of those. I've been recommending them all over the place and I recommend them to all the prog-rock fans that read our reviews. You might have to go through the website (clear and well-organised), to initially get copies, (and also hear examples and make up your own mind), but it'll be worth the trip. from Ghostland: http://ghostland.com/ Land of Chocolate is a new musical venture spawned from the ashes of both Pennsylvania's Finneus Gauge and Virginia's fIVE pOST fENCE. Jonn Buzby, former drummer for FG now playing keyboards and handling the lead vocals for LOC, joined forces with guitarist Brian O'Neill and bass/Stick player John Jens in 1999 to create some new original music. Since Buzby had now stepped out from behind the drum set, the band called upon Echolyn co-percussionist, Jordan Perlson. Their debut album, "Unikorn on the Cob," is a 60-minute collection of challenging, entertaining and very listenable tunes. Highlights of the album include the edgy, progressive "Upping the Ante," the flamingly sarcastic "We Love You Lots," the beautifully anthemic "Self Control," and the multi-dynamic instrumental title track, "Unicorn on the Kob." One of the most representative songs of the band's style is "Musical Findings." The song incorporates the edgey infectious groove, excellent musicianship, and sense of humor that Land of Chocolate embodies. Perlson's controlled complexity makes for a wonderful canvas for Jens and O'Neill's complimentary styles to play over. The listener will also be impressed by Buzby's prowess on the keyboards, as well as his being a very talented lead vocalist. This is a great debut album from a fine collection of young musicians, and is highly recommended. For additional MP3 downloads, visit the Land of Chocolate web site. from Gods of Music http://www.godsofmusic.com/ I have a weak spot in my heart for progressive music. It's hard, however, to wade through the many bands who think they know how to write progressive music (but don't); there are bands out there who think adding an extra beat (or three) to a standard 4/4 rock tune makes them the next Genesis or Fates Warning. Land of Chocolate is not one of those bands. Land of Chocolate is one of the bands you suffer through all the crap to find. This is a strong composition, featuring seamless time signature jaunts and interesting melodic journies. There's also staccato rapid-fire unison riffs, as you might find on a Dream Theater record. Plus it features some wide open vocal harmony passages that are pretty impressive. I can't help but to think that the big vocal sections could be mixed a little better to enhance the vocal blend - but to their credit, there's a lot going on. The big harmonies bring to mind a huge show tune though (in a good way) and I would think that such a strong feature could be showcased a little more effectively. My only other complaint is the keyboard sounds. While the playing is sharp and intense, the sounds themselves (in a few spots) sound to my ear to be a little less than top-shelf. Specifically, I didn't care too much for the piano tone or the solo sound. But these are matters of preference, and if that was the sound they were going for, then I can live with that minor complaint. Stylistically these guys compare favorably to Spock's Beard; they've got sure-fire progressive roots but this song (like much of Morse & Company's material) has pop-friendly hooks and accessible vocals. It's a blend of style that I am quite fond of, and these guys do it very well. This song ROCKS. Charisma: 9.00 Technical Skill: 10.00 Structure: 9.00 Interest: 9.50 Lyrics: 8.50 Performance: 9.50 Arrangement: 9.00 Recording Quality: 9.00 Long Term Appeal: 9.00 OVERALL: 9.10 from Prog4you: http://www.prog4you.com/ I had heard a lot of good things about this band during last year's NEARfest, when they performed at the pre-show gig and apparently blew a lot of people away with a killer set. After hearing this CD, I'm really kicking myself in the ass for missing it (yes folks, I actually CAN kick my own ass, but I won't explain how it's done because the site has no adult rating...) The album is really idiosyncratic, drawing from diverse styles and making use of many different sounds and instrumentation to produce a surprisingly coherent and tight piece of work. The opening track, "Musical Findings" is a very aptly titled number, which kicks things off with the perfect mix of finesse and cojones. From that point on, you better pay close attention, because these guys spend the rest of the album developing all the ingredients hinted at in the opener. It should come as no surprise that this CD has certain undeniable hints of Echolyn and Finneas Gauge, but I don't think this is a problem. In fact, I believe this is one of the best CD's I've heard in a while, using a vast array of tasty ideas and arrangement quirks to offer a highly original collection of modern prog that rocks and makes you think. The quasi-title track is a good example of the strange places this music can take you; be prepared to hear anything from driving rhythm section runs to haunting vibes, expertly juxtaposed with spoken sections suggestive of South Park. Another important aspect of the album is that, although every musician is highly competent on their respective instrument (Buzby will eventually mature on keys), they all play to serve the song, and not to showcase their chops. You don't have 15-minute moog solos, and the band never ever loses the groove or melodies they use to "fudge" their compositions together just to throw in a time change. People who insist that prog begins and ends in the 70's shouldn't bother coming out of their hobbit hole to bitch about all these "upstarts". I love some of that ancient, badly recorded stuff as much as anyone, but Unikorn On The Cob is a damn fine recording, and I recommend it very enthusiastically to anyone who wants to hear something smart, fresh and tasty. But don't take my word for it. Go to their website, check them out, and see for yourselves: www.landofchocolate.net Rating: 9
keyboards. www.actionattackhelicopter.com I thought bands like this were required to put the words "groove," "funk," or "space" somewhere in their name. Musically, Funky Space Groove is quite adept, weaving syncopated, angular rhythms like the bastard child of Cheer-Accident and a Rush cover band. I think we can all agree, however, that the world is not currently in search of the next Primus. Sounding little more than a semester project at Julliard, the band lacks the charisma of modern math rockers like Trans Am or the maturity of jazz/rock fusion pioneers like the Mahavishnu Orchestra. What Space Jam Groove Armada needs to discover is that an awareness of the listener and how to relate to him/her is far more impressive than displaying your chops. Is it possible to be so technically good that you suck? I bet it really bothers these guys that they slave for hours over intricate compositions that no one outside of disgruntled music reviewers at Keyboard Magazine (and Action Attack Helicopter) will hear, while Joe Poppunk and his merry band of mooks can whip out any old piece of crap with a 4/4 backbeat and a couple whoa-ohs and take it to #1 at the drop of their baseball caps. I mean, come on, we all know that when it comes down to it, all people really want is something with a good beat that they can dance to. Dancing to Spacey Funk Jam Groove Explosion would probably require one to take a music theory course. This is one of those records that makes you go "Wow, these guys are really talented, and yet I hate them so much!" After listening to the first couple songs, I went berserk and embarked on a violent, self-destructive rampage, causing extensive damage to myself and everything in my path. No more would Groovy Space Funk Demon Nerd suck my soul! Sensing danger, my wife seized the toaster from the filling bathtub, bandaged my bloodied wrists, and put on the first Ramones album. Ah, the world makes sense again. |