On this Texas band\u2019s most fully-realized work yet, If All Goes Wrong <\/i>shows the Aaron Clift Experiment harnessing their prog tendencies with a hard rock edge and a more natural chemistry between the band honed from six years of live shows.<\/p>\n
Where 2015\u2019s Outer Light, Inner Darkness <\/i>tended to meander, this third effort is tighter, harder, and more song-focused. Only two of the songs go beyond six minutes and the solos are never indulgent, serving the song instead of highlighting the player. Moreover, Clift (keyboards, vocals, co-songwriter) and Devin North (bass, co-songwriter) create a wealth of hooks and melodies that stick with the listener, as on the main riff in \u201cFaith,\u201d the chorus of \u201cDream Within A Dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an admirable effort, and even if every song doesn\u2019t stick the landing, the majority of the disc is worth repeated listens, if only to discover the arrangements and layers that bubble to the surface with multiple listens. \u201cLast Crash\u201d packs a lot into its run time, showing a Smashing Pumpkins-esque grunge feel in the verses (after a spooky two-note bass riff introduces the piece) and then giving way to a necessary solo spot. The live version of the song is even better (it\u2019s on YouTube).<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsent Lovers\u201d and \u201cDream Within A Dream\u201d are the longer pieces here, effortlessly moving between sections better than the similar songs on Outer Light. <\/i>\u201cAbsent Lovers\u201d is a bit reminiscent of King Crimson\u2019s Islands<\/i> era, with its medieval feel enhanced by a string quartet and a closing guitar solo. It should be noted that longtime guitarist Eric Gutierrez left the band after most of the album was written, so his guitar parts are played by a rotating cast of guest stars based in Austin. <\/p>\n
\u201cWild Hunters\u201d is an efficient three-minute rocker, leading into \u201cIf All Goes Wrong,\u201d the emotional and musical climax of the disc. The track features a Mellotron (in 2018!), a killer closing guitar solo from Dave North, and it speaks to the need of having people in your life who will support you. If there\u2019s any concept to the album, it\u2019s that once can always find solace in relationships when religion, politics, and\/or celebrities let us down. The \u201cbonus track\u201d on the CD, \u201cBack To The Water,\u201d is a lovely solo Clift piece looking back on a tough period in his life and the comfort he found on the beach where he lived at the time; it\u2019s highly personal and, together with the epic title cut, closes the disc on a very strong note.<\/p>\n
Both \u201cCastle In The Sky\u201d and \u201cSavage In A Fancy Suit\u201d are strong cuts as well, with the latter showing a Black Sabbath influence in the riffing and Clift\u2019s affected growl, the opposite of his high-register wailing elsewhere. \u201cFaith\u201d is musically a strong opener but its tone-deaf lyrics about Christians \u2013 as well as the awkward moment after the chorus when the music drops out \u2013 render it less successful than the better songs here. However, the only real misfire on the 10 songs is \u201cBetter Off Before,\u201d a departure from the traditional ACE sound and one they should never take again, inasmuch as it sounds like the theme from \u201cWelcome Back, Kotter\u201d <\/i>mixed with the worst moments of the White Album. It\u2019s too jaunty by half, although coming after \u201cAbsent Lovers,\u201d it allows the listener to breathe for a moment.<\/p>\n
Although the Experiment is billed as a progressive rock band, and lists bands like Marillion and Gentle Giant as influences, the band\u2019s music is as dense and yet more accessible than that \u201cprog\u201d moniker suggests. Adding a full-time guitarist is probably the last piece of the puzzle because, with If All Goes Wrong<\/i>, Clift and his band have made a statement\u2026and it\u2019s a darn good one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":33588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[9703],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-45409","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-aaron-clift-experiment","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45409"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}