Artist: Barry Cleveland
Label: ElevenEleven Music
Release: 2010
Duration: 64:42
Rating: 4/5
Protest lyrics are a real rarity in progressive music, which makes the records that have them all the more valued. Most prog rock themes lean fantastical, with a dash of love and philosophy, and any kind of direct social critique shows up only rarely. We all know “The Wall”, the life’s work of Roger Waters from “Floyd”, but after that you really have to think hard to come up with another similar work that made any noise. With “Hologramatron”, Barry Cleveland steps up next to the critic Waters, at least when it comes to how well the message lands – he probably won’t reach the glory of “The Wall”.
Sadly, the album doesn’t come with a lyrics booklet, but with Amy X Neuburg’s wildly aggressive vocals the words come through clearly enough, and most of them are aimed at today’s money-hungry capitalist society. Thematically it’s very close to “The Wall” as Waters presents it today, so basically an updated version. The strongest tracks with socially critical lyrics are the opening pair, “Lake of Fire” and “Money Speaks”. Opener “Lake of Fire” is a huge surprise, a truly unexpected start from Barry Cleveland, who’s known as a jazz fusion guitarist, because it hits us with all the inner aggression of Cleveland’s concept: punchy vocals, uncompromising lyrics and a near-avant-garde instrumental explosion. And when a good number of musical styles flip past almost too fast on the record, we’re left with our brains blown out. Already with “Money Talks”, Cleveland brings in jazz and funk influences that stand in sharp contrast to the original metal and avant-garde sound. The whole album is one big romp through every imaginable dimension of music. By the time we finally run into folk rhythms and melodies and world music, we honestly don’t know what to think. Still, you have to admit that most of the time the instrumental parts fit the lyrics perfectly, which is a big win.
Besides Cleveland’s undeniable guitar mastery, a thumbs-up is due to the rhythm section too, drummer Celso Alberti and bassist Michael Manring. Their knack for creating perfectly matched dissonances and switching up unrhythmic, irregular grooves can’t go unnoticed. Following Cleveland’s crazy ideas makes them a perfect rhythm section, with plenty of room for both players to catch their breath. The fifth bass string in particular often gets slapped funk-style and layered with a good number of effects, which once again points to the crazy fusion and eclectic nature of Cleveland’s music.
The songs often seem to set themselves the goal of escaping the listener. They do it with every avant-garde trick in the book: grating sounds, stumbling rhythm changes, an intrusive and pounding vocal. Sometimes they do it purely to slip away from us, and no longer for the sake of the music itself. Over time that becomes a problem, and the album now and then loses its identity. Still, there’s no denying the quality and musical chops of all the players, who are capable of incredible variety in the shortest possible time.
“Hologramatron” is an album that goes into the ears with difficulty. The first listen, the second, the third … for most people there’ll be a few more “-th”s to go. But once it finds its way to the right hemisphere of the brain and then through the veins to the heart, every such listener is rewarded with the sound of enlightenment. “Hologramatron” is a modern “The Wall”, an uncompromising and innovative madman that mixes genres and melodies that are complete opposites. But it does all this deliberately, with experience, knowing exactly what it’s doing. And the end product is eclecticism of the highest order.
It is quite rare to find any kind of protest lyrics in progressive music and the works with them are therefore highly valued. Themes in prog rock are mostly about philosophic ideals, love, fantasy etc., but any form of direct criticism is hardly ever there. Of course we all know “The Wall”, lifework of Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, but that is mostly that. Thus Barry Cleveland is thrown together with the great critic Roger Waters, at least when the effectiveness of “Hologramatron’s” message is concerned – “The Wall’s” fame will probably not be reached.
Album is unfortunately without a booklet with lyrics, but the latter are given strongly enough, thanks to Amy X Neuburg’s aggressive voice. Most of them are, of course, directed against today’s money-hungry capitalist society. The main theme is therefore very similar to the one of “The Wall”, at least as it is presented today by Waters, so the “revised” version. The strongest tracks with socially-critical lyrics are the opening ones, “Lake of Fire” and “Money Speaks”. “Lake of Fire” is a big surprise, truly unexpected start of Barry Cleveland, who is renowned as a jazz fusion guitarist. The track strikes us with the whole aggression of Cleveland’s concept, with powerful vocals, uncompromising lyrics and an almost avant-garde instrumental explosion. And when the crazy switches of musical genres are done, we are left with our minds blown away. “Money Talks” is, for instance, full of jazz and funk elements, which are in contrast with the elements of “Lake of Fire”, avant-garde metal song. The whole record is one big madness, full of various music dimensions. When we are finally faced with folk rhythms and melodies and world music, our mind goes blank and we are left speechless. However, this exactly is the beauty of “Hologramatron” – that music genres perfectly comply with the lyrics.
Not only Cleveland’s masterful guitaring, the rhythm section, Alberti on the drums and Manning on the bass guitar, also deserves big “thumbs up”. The ability to create perfectly matching dissonances and to change those odd time signatures so often so quickly must not be and cannot be ignored. Following Cleveland’s wacked ideas makes them a perfect rhythm section, which has its own room for its own creativeness.
Often, the goal of the tracks is to escape the listener’s ears. They do this with all kinds of avant-garde approaches, with annoying sounds, with tripping rhythm changes, with violating vocals. Sometimes they do this only for the escape and for the music’s sake anymore. This gets troublesome with time, as the album occasionally loses its identity. Despite all this, the quality and skills are not to be disputed, as they are able to perform the most unbelievable changes in as little time as possible.
“Hologramatron” is therefore a record our ears will only gradually accept. But when the acceptance is done, when the album finds its way from the right brain’s hemisphere and through the veins to the heart, then every single listener is awarded with the sound of revelation. “Hologramatron” is the new “The Wall”, an uncompromising and innovative madman that mixes genres and melodies, which are the opposite in their entirety. But “Hologramatron” does that deliberately, with experience, knowing its work. And the final product is eclecticism of the highest order.
Line-up
Barry Cleveland – electric and acoustic guitar, samples
Robert Powell / pedal-steel and lap-steel guitar
Michael Manring – bass guitar
Celso Alberti – drums, percussion
Amy X Neuburg – vocals
Guest musicians:
Harry Manx – vocals
Deborah Holland – vocals
Artist General – voice
Erdem Helvacioglu – electro-acoustic guitar
Rick Walker – percussion, teapot, doumbek
Gino Robair – doumbek, kendang
Production
Barry Cleveland
Track list
1. Lake of Fire (4:22)
2. Money Speaks (4:40)
3. You’ll Just Have to See It to Believe (5:22)
4. Stars of Sayulita (6:12)
5. Warning (4:20)
6. What Have They Done to the Rain (4:56)
7. Abandoned Mines (5:45)
8. Suicide Train (4:23)
9. Telstar (3:55)
10. Dateless Oblivion & Divine Repose (1:54)
Bonus tracks:
11. Abandoned Mines Forest Fang Remix (8:26)
12. You’ll Just Have to See It to Believe Alternate Mix (5:48)
13. Lake of Fire Evan Schiller Remix (4:21)
