Review: iNFiNiEN – Beyond the Veil

Style: Progressive rock, Jazz fusion (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Reign of Kindo, Ok Goodnight, Thank You Scientist
Review by: Doug
Country: US-PA
Release date: 6 October, 2022

The relationship between jazz and progressive music is always an interesting one. Defining the roots of prog as a whole presents a challenge when each artist insists upon claiming their own unique kaleidoscopic snowflake of influences, but the freeform, rule-defying attitude of jazz makes itself heard in most such palettes; nevertheless, jazz fusion usually sets itself apart as a separate label entirely. Constructing their sound around the most chaotic elements of that jazz influence, iNFiNiEN return with Beyond the Veil to show audiences once again how seamlessly jazz and prog can integrate.

Beyond the Veil’s opener and title track sounds fantastic. Right away, iNFiNiEN show off their compositional creativity with a monster of a song that doesn’t stop thrilling the listener at any point in its nearly seven minutes of heaven. With its frantic and polyrhythmic changes between every complex time signature you can conceive of, “Beyond The Veil” steadfastly resists setting any lasting expectations; expect instead to be surprised and enthralled at each turn as iNFiNiEN dance lightly ahead past whatever they were playing in the prior moment. It would be easy, of course, for this chaotic mode of composition to instead be untenable and overwhelming; for the opener (and most of the rest of the album, at least), it isn’t. Despite being unpredictable, the music does follow a sort of structural logic, and after you’re through to the other side you can make enough sense of what you just heard.

Not all of the chaos is quite so compelling, though. The songs “Wheel To Nowhere (Good Luck)” and “The Call” especially feel unfocused and lacking in musical cohesion. The band’s creativity is still undeniable in terms of the variety of sounds and styles they can cycle through in a single track, but without the creative direction that makes “Beyond The Veil” such a great opener, these other tracks lose me. When the shifts and transformations become too unpredictable, I’m left unsatisfied without enough of an idea of where the music is going.

Most of Beyond the Veil lies instead between these two extremes. The middle tracks “Our Breath” and “Ascent” take on a gentler atmosphere with fewer rapid jumps from one idea to the next. This quieter approach still employs impressively varied compositions and rhythmic complexities, but without the frantic energy that makes the opener so absorbing (and other songs so hard to follow). My feelings on this are middling; on the one hand, I’m pleased to see iNFiNiEN’s range of talents, and the shift in tone helps ensure the listening experience doesn’t get monotonous or overwhelming. That said, I also find that what distinguishes the band – both for good and for ill – derives mostly from the thrilling energy they can create when they hold nothing back, and without that energy their music doesn’t capture my attention nearly so well, even when it is still well-composed and enjoyable.

Where iNFiNiEN’s creativity shines, though, it shines bright, and the vocals and lyrics are no exception. Beyond the Veil’s lyrics convey deep meanings and relatable sentiments, including the environmentalist and anti-capitalist politics of “Wheel To Nowhere,” the pained and introspective “Mannequin Parade,” and more abstract and ethereal scenes like “Our Breath” and the title track. Throughout all of these themes, iNFiNiEN employ flowery, poetic language and literary techniques to create a sense of cinematography and artistry – for example, the alliterative opening of the title track, with lines like “Wonder, wiser, we witness what’s whole within / What will the wild winds wish.” Singer Chrissie Loftus also contributes a unique vocal performance that helps highlight the rhythmic complexities of iNFiNiEN’s composition; her extremely sharp syllabic delivery emphasizes the band’s tight coordination and the flexibility of their ever-shifting time signatures. “Gratitude” showcases her voice the best, providing space for the vocals to take center stage as Loftus leaps across the jazzed-up scales with effortless precision.

I’m certainly not alone among prog fans in how much the complexity of music determines my enjoyment of it. With their impeccable sense of rhythm and deep, creative songwriting, iNFiNiEN at their best provide exactly the kind of musical experience I’m looking for. Not every moment can live up to this standard, and most of Beyond the Veil does not excite me quite the way I expected and hoped based on the opening; still, the album provides an enjoyable experience rife with surprises, and its free-flowing composition takes full advantage of jazz’s often unspoken contribution to progressive music.

Recommended tracks: Beyond The Veil, Mannequin Parade, Gratitude
You may also like: St. Barbe, Exploring Birdsong, Yaatri, Coevality
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Independent

iNFiNiEN is:
– Jordan Berger (bass, backing vocals)
– Tom Cullen (drums)
– Matt Hollenberg (guitars)
– Chrissie Loftus (keyboards, vocals)
With guests:
– Liz Carlson (violin, “Ascent” and “Gratitude”)
– Andrea Weber (cello, “Ascent” and “Gratitude”)
– Naeemah Z. Maddox (flute, “Ascent” and “Gratitude”)