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Versa — A Voyage / A Destination, Part 2
(Bandcamp no#, 2024, 2CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-02-02

A Voyage / A Destination, Part 2 Cover art

For the second installment of their A Voyage / A Destination conceptual recordings, Versa has created another winning album, just as engaging as the first. This time out, the band proper is the trio of Jesse Bell (drums, guitar, bass), Matthew Dolmage (flutes, guitar, bass, piano, vocals), and Hollas Longton (violin, vocals), and once again they’re engaged a large number of others to fill out the sound with keyboards, guitars, strings, brass, and additional vocals. There are also the “special guests” Eric Gillette (guitar), Ross Jennings (vocals), Micheal Trew (vocals), and Sam Vallen (guitar), who appear on one track each. Stylistically, this is progressive rock on the gentle pastoral side, with emphasis on piano, acoustic guitar, and the strings, though there’s enough energy to keep things from getting sleepy. They occasionally work the arrangements to build up to post-rock style climaxes, proving themselves quite skilled at the ebb and flow of tension and release. Dolmage is the primary composer, sometimes in collaboration with one or more of the others. Of the eleven tracks, only five have lyrics, and four of those only include a few lines. “Artemis” is the prime exception, being an epic more than seventeen minutes in length. Michael Trew is the primary vocalist on this one, singing of the journey of the titular spaceship off into the void to a new planet where the crew experiences “The Existential Horror of Astrobiology” (or “Xenobiology,” depending on where you look in the credits — the title of the fourth part of the suite). This is one of the best long tracks I’ve heard in a while, with superb vocal arrangements, contrasting instrumental sections, and even (the rarest part) decent lyrics. Experienced listeners will hear some commonalities with such classic bands as Harmonium, Höstsonaten, Ciccada, and so on, but their expansive instrumentation really sets them in a category of their own. Highly recommended for fans of melodic music.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Michael Trew, Versa

More info
http://versaversa.bandcamp.com/album/a-voyage-a-destination-part-2

 

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