DPRP Review

Well I have to say that when this CD first arrived with its rather simplistic, cartoonesque cover along with the band's rather un-appealing name, I didn't feel like I needed to rush to the CD player to listen to this new offering from New Zealand's The Bob Lazar Story. To be honest with the plethora of releases landing on the DPRP table these days Mr Lazar kept slipping down the pile. But thankfully it did make it into the player and it turned out to be quite an interesting release.

So who is, or what is Bob Lazar? Well primarily guitarist and composer Matt Deacon from Liverpool ?! Who now resides in Christchurch, New Zealand and with the help of Simon Fox (drums), Ross Devereux (sax) and Tanya Didham (spoken word) has produced these eight surprisingly diverse instrumental offerings.

The album opener is probably the best track for me, rising as it does from a fairly lengthy ambient intro before bouncing into full flow. At this point I might easily have put a SpaceRock label on the album and gradually let my interest dwindle accordingly. But rhythmically Levers Of Doom is an infectious piece and makes you just want to go along for the ride. Matt carefully crafts in a number of layered guitar lines nicely building up an appealing texture. And at just over four minutes it doesn't outstay its welcome. Following on from here we have the metallic vibes of ThreeFourFaster and unlike the title might suggest this isn't played at warp speed. In fact it has some of the trappings of a MathRock composition with a few early Sci Fi sounds, (courtesy of a theremin), lurking around the extremities. And that nicely links into Double Turn Double Safe with its driving heavy riffs, before gliding into a swampy country/blues slide solo.

OK so far so good. Heavy Sandwich surprisingly is more of a groove affair, that ain't heavy - gradually building and climaxing with a rather manic sax solo from Ross Devereux. Greengold on the other hand is probably the album's trickiest piece - off kilter drumming, odd metered guitar riffs, punctuating arpeggiated keys in a jazz fusion mould. Matt Deacon treats us to an extended instrumental section - the first on the album. Drawing from the previous piece the flow of the album is maintained through Son Of Six.

The Progressive Adventures Of Foodstool is as the literature describes - "weird and wacky" as it covers "several different directions". Employing a minimalistic approach to the sounds, opening with just piano, acoustic guitar and the gradual introduction of deft keyboard flourishes. Full circle with a brief Pierre Moerlen tuned percussive section - a Mellotron moment - and then a twisting melodic guitar interlude reminiscent of Mike Oldfield - and finally the wind carries us off and away.

I Didn't Get Anything Off That is one of those gradual building affairs, full of promise, but sadly doesn't really develop into anything. There's a hint of Pink Floyd in there, but not enough to write home about.

This mini album didn't quite push all the right buttons for me, but it showed that not all guitar orientated albums need endless flashy solos to be interesting. And it is interesting and certainly worth having a listen to the audio tracks on CD Baby and The Bob Lazar Story websites. Matt is currently putting together a band to perform live and presumably to record more material. As it stands sic makes an interesting taster and I would certainly be keen to hear more from TBLS in the future.

Conclusion: 6.5 out of 10

BOB MULVEY