Have you ever been to electric violin land? A master of four-string wonder crystallizes his vision
Over the five years that have passed since Joe Deninzon carved a personal niche in the rock domain with his band’s debut, “Headspace”, he made forays into jazz territory with a trio of his own on the instrumental covers collection which is “Exuberance”, but it’s in STRATOSPHEERIUS that the violinist holds the richest palette to take colors from. And this time he goes for a big picture, even though tango “The House Always Wins” and punky yelp of “Tech Support” might throw things to the humorous side to dissolve the wah-wah-adorned cerebral swipe of “The Missing Link” or the heavy “Gods” idiosyncrasy and, thus, blur the intent.
So while “Release” opens the lookout in quite pathetic manner, planting a folk dance onto proggy stem – a trick that works miracles in the vocal-free rave “Fleshbot” – when the full view comes into focus with the guitar-and-fiddle rage of “Climbing” a fabulous vibe goes down the listener’s spine. Ignited by Aurelien Budynek’s axe, “Road Rage”, the most classically-burdened piece on offer and at the same time the sharpest, marries its riff-fest to Balkan swirl, whereas “One Foot In The Next World” thrives on its fusion sensibilities, but “The Prism” is where the Eastern-hued vibe turns triumphal and the purest release reveals itself. After that, another five years would make a cruel wait.
****2/3
