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Kaos Moon — The Goldfish
(Unicorn Digital UNCR-5102, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-10-22

The Goldfish Cover art

Sometimes a band may take a year or two off between releases, maybe to tour, maybe to find new ideas, work on solo releases or other projects. Sometimes it’s a bit longer, like the fifteen years off that Sleepytime Gorilla Museum took after In Glorious Times, although I have to admit I thought they were gone after that long stretch of time; I honestly thought that Canadian prog band Kaos Moon had called it a day after their second album Circle of Madness, itself a full ten years after their 1994 debut. But here they are a full twenty years later with their third album The Goldfish, and in fine form I might add, like that long rest never even happened. But it did, and only singer / multi-instrumentalist (drums, keyboards, acoustic guitar and banjo) Bernard Ouellette remains from the second album, now joined by newcomers Eric Bonette (electric guitars and backing vocals) and bassist Eric Portolance as the core of the band, with guests Benoit Chaput on guitars and Irish bouzouki, Jean-François Bélanger (who also guested on the previous album) playing nickelharpa and sitar, and Jean-François Désilets on bass. Although the band calls Quebec home, they sing in English, and Ouellette’s high-register vocals are one of the trademarks of the band’s sound, not unlike Jon Anderson in those early years of Yes. At this point the band retains their classic elements while also branching out into some new directions. “Love Transfusion” opens the proceedings with a powerful rock entrance highlighting crunchy Hammond Organ and other keyboards for over a minute and a half before the vocals come in, over eight minutes in all. That’s followed by the largely acoustic “Logger’s Tale” highlighted by some blistering electric leads and nyckelharpa before the organ jumps back in and the piece rocks towards its ultimate conclusion. There’s only a single instrumental among the album’s eight tracks, but “The Hatching” stands as a great one, creeping in slowly around a throbbing bass before a brisk conversation between synths and electric guitars ensues over some odd time signature rhythm. The eleven minute title track closes the album with some introductory sitar, which quickly evolves into a full on progressive rock epic, shifting gears and moods as it proceeds with some extended instrumental sections interspersed between the vocals. All taken, it’s great to have Kaos Moon back in action, and The Goldfish makes it seem like that long break never happened.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Kaos Moon

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