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Reviews

Pinnacle — Meld
((Not on label) no#, 2006, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2008-01-01

Meld Cover art Heck, any band that gives thanks to "the spectacular Eliza Dushku for inspiration" deserves the benefit of the doubt, don't they? This American three-piece treads some familiar ground — the sorta-progressive power trio — but good taste, musicianship, and varied writing win out over the lack of ground-breaking innovation. There's enough room in the world for well-crafted music like this to find a home. The whole production has a whiff of DIY to it, but these guys do it well, from the nicely printed cover (which is professionally done if not artistically brilliant) to the clean recording. I could name a horde of similar bands who are aiming at a similar target and miss the mark. The difference probably comes down to the quality of the writing. Quality instrumentalists are not rare in the world, and even good singers are not hard to find (though sadly not found in many places where they ought to be), but here we find both combined with someone who can come up with some decent tunes for them to work with. Most of Pinnacle's music is written by Karl Eisenhart, with all three contributing arrangements, vocals, and a variety of instruments beyond the foundation of guitar, bass and drums. I hesitate to throw around comparisons, because while Pinnacle fits securely within the realm of Rush and Spock's Beard (among others), they really don't sound imitative. I have no trouble calling this one of the best American prog releases of 2006.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 35, 2006 releases

Related artist(s): Pinnacle

More info
http://www.pinnacleband.com

 

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