Style: jazz fusion, progressive metal (instrumental)
Recommended for fans of: The Aristocrats, Snarky Puppy, Thank You Scientist, Mahavishnu Orchestra
Country: US-NY
Release date: 13 September 2024
Crafting a truly unique sound is one of the hardest tasks for any band; with the sheer volume of music already out there, it’s tempting to simply fit into a mold created by one’s influences and toss out slight variations of what has come before. This is especially true in the instrumental prog space: vocal timbre and lyrical style are two of the easiest ways to stand out, after all, and without those avenues of expression, countless artists are left churning out the same vaguely djenty guitar sounds that artists like Plini and Intervals have been doing for over a decade. Consider the Source, however, do not have that problem. The NYC “sci-fi Middle Eastern fusion” trio have been forging their fiercely singular brand of instrumental prog– complete with elements of Indian, Balkan, and Arabic folk music alongside jazz fusion and psychedelic rock– for a solid twenty years now, and show no signs of slowing down any time soon. This is my first time actually reviewing a band I have a prior history with; I discovered their excellent 2019 record You Are Literally a Metaphor during my college radio days and have been following their music off and on since. While 2021’s softer and folkier Hybrid Vol. 1: Such As A Mule left me a bit cold, I had high hopes for their newest project. Made alongside producer David Prater (best known for his work on a little album called Images and Words), The Stare promises a heavier, more metallic direction for their sound. But can they pull this new style off while still keeping true to their core sound, or have they added one ingredient too many?
I needn’t have worried; CTS continue to sound like their music came from outer goddamn space. Sprawling 13-minute opener “Trial by Stone” demonstrates that they’re still in fine form, bouncing from ethereal psychedelia to tight, melodic counterpoint to freewheeling, shreddy jam sessions while keeping the track’s core melodic motifs close at hand. There are passages where the guitars distort and the double bass drums begin pounding, but they’re effortlessly folded into the band’s sound along with their multitude of other influences. In the absence of vocals, Gabriel Marin wields his fretless guitar like a lead singer, spinning forth quavery, ear-catching melodies that often sound more like a theremin or an erhu than any guitar I’ve heard. With Marin so resolutely focused on the treble, it leaves much of the riffing to John Ferrara’s bass, a role he fills ably. His intricate, slap-and-tap rich playing fills an absolutely insane amount of the mix, and his tone is thicker than an overcooked bowl of oatmeal– plus, he contributes synth parts with foot pedals, Geddy Lee-style. Jeff Mann, for his part, scales back from the dozen miscellaneous percussion implements he used on the previous record in favor of just being a damn good prog drummer capable of driving each track’s capricious rhythmic pulse with panache– though he does add a couple extra instruments, including a bit of mallet percussion to punch up some of the melodies. Fantastic as these guys all are individually, there’s even more magic in their interplay; there’s a palpable sense of fun and joy that leaps out of every intricate bit of instrumental interweaving. I feel like there should be people in the room with these guys, shouting “Woo!” and “Hell yeah!” after every particularly tasty solo flourish.
After the absolute unit of a starting track, we’re left with only four more tunes, each showing off its own piece of CTS’s musical identity. “I Can See My Eyes” represents the slower, more psychedelic side of the band– though I’d hesitate to call it a “ballad”, it’s still the most chill track on here, with sparse electronic percussion backing a soft, mysterious melody that eventually develops into a soaring, Steve Vai-esque solo. Lead single “Mouthbreather” is next, and hoo boy, is this one a ride and a half. This is the tune that leans hardest into metal influences, foregoing the wispy fretless melodies in favor of hard-charging guitar and bass unisons over growling synth pedals… and then things start getting really interesting. To put it simply, this one goes absurdly hard, a prog-metal tornado that rampages through strength after strength. My favorite moments include the way Mann’s layered, cowbell-filled drum solo is abruptly shoved out of the way by Ferrara’s gnarly, bitcrushed bass midway through the song, as well as the closing breakdown that just might be the heaviest thing they’ve ever done. “New World Čoček”, a cover of Balkan/klezmer saxophonist Matt Darriau, is the nod to their folk/world music side, though it cranks the volume several notches beyond the comparatively mild-mannered original. This is the hardest the band jams out on the album, pulling out numerous gloriously indulgent solos while shifting the energy around enough to avoid feeling like they’re just repeating the head chord progression again. Finally, we have closer “Preemptive Vengeance”, which feels unexpectedly tight at a mere five minutes. With its menacing synth guitar melody and the way the rhythm section boils beneath it with the restrained fury of approaching thunder, it feels more like a credits sting than a proper end, though it is a damn enticing one.
Still, there are a couple things about The Stare that didn’t quite land for me. For instance, I have some reservations about Gabriel Marin’s solo style. While he’s clearly an absurdly talented musician with a well-defined sound, some of his solos feel like a fuzzy, messy blur of ultra-rapid notes– like if you gave Slayer‘s Kerry King a jazz theory textbook or twelve. In fact, much of the album (particularly “New World Čoček”) relies on a loose, live, jam-band feel, and while this brings an unmatchable energy and vibe, it may come off as sloppy to listeners that are used to more polished, through-composed music. Honestly, though, my main disappointment is that the band didn’t push the envelope further. With “Mouthbreather” as the lead single heralding a much-touted turn towards metal, I expected a bit more heaviness from the other four tracks than a couple double-kick drum passages in the opener and an extra sprinkle of distortion in the guitars. This is, in many ways, just another Consider the Source record, and while that is far from a bad thing, I can’t help but wonder what could have been.
Let me be clear, though– despite those minor gripes, The Stare is a great album, and the instrumental record to beat for 2024. It’s a clear return to form for the band and a reminder that they’re still one of the most unique, exciting, and underappreciated acts in prog today. To anyone new to the band, it’s quite possibly the best album to start with, delivering the full breadth of their sound and capabilities in a tight, punchy, and vibrant 42-minute package. So, if you’re into music of the fusion-adjacent persuasion, or if you just want to hear three virtuosos kick ass on their instruments with a unique, genre-blending twist, I recommend you meet this album’s gaze and lose yourself in its inky depths. You’ll get out eventually. Maybe.
Recommended tracks: Trial By Stone, Mouthbreather, New World Čoček
You may also like: Matt Darriau, Elephant9, Marbin
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Consider the Source is:
– Gabriel Marin (double neck guitar)
– John Ferrara (bass, synth)
– Jeff Mann (drums, percussion)
