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State Urge - White Rock Experience review



Reviewer:
N/A

5 users:
7.4
Band: State Urge
Album: White Rock Experience
Release date: March 2013


01. Third Wave Of Decadence
02. Preface
03. Time Rush
04. Long For You
05. Illusion
06. Tumbling Down
07. :Gaze
08. All I Need

The amount of good music that some countries seem to produce sometimes baffles me. However, if there is a country that has ever gone past the point of no surprise for me, it has to be Poland. "Hey, listen, man, I've just found this great prog band! - Let me guess, Poland, right? - Umm... Yeah!" I really have no idea how they do it. Now, once again, I've come across a prog band to my liking and, yes, they are from Poland.

Commonly I spend my working hours listening to music. When I was first going through White Rock Experience I probably wasn't paying close attention to it for whatever distracting reasons. Hence, it went somewhat under radar. However, I distinctly remember noticing various moments - a guitar melody here, a nice driving sound there, then a vocal line, or an ambient background at another time - and thinking that I have to remember to listen to this album again with more thought to spare. Naturally, I took my time which is another way of saying I simply forgot about it for quite a while.

Then, at some point I was looking for something to listen to and came across this album again. There I was, looking at it and getting only vague non-memories and a surprisingly pleasant feeling. Something was amiss. If it was good, I should by all accounts remember it, right? Play! The second pass proved to be some sort of a revelation. The intricate melodies of the album started unfolding themselves and I found myself in a world of beautiful prog rock with a feeling.

Any Polish prog band would eventually get compared to the etalon of modern Polish prog - Riverside. So, let's get this one out of the way. Specifically "Illusion" sounds like something that could be a mellower part of the "Reality Dream" suite. However, the rest, not so much. And while the beginning of the album is leaning on the heavier edge, lots of it is going back to the good old times and classic sounds and riffs. On the whole, however, it leaves an imprint of a specific mood and an emotional state rather than something you can remember by distinct moments through and through.

The thing with this album - and probably the reason why I initially forgot about it - is that it seems to do its magic in the background. I'm listening to it, I'm hearing the great tunes, I'm noticing the details, but at the same time I'm failing to register them consciously. It just falls through to the subconscious level. Then, on repeated spin, it all gets pulled out, realigned with the ongoing listening experience, and it is once more confirmed that the album is indeed a worthy one. After that, a feeling of content of having had a good time. Again. White Rock Experience seems to be getting to me from inside out. And to think that this is only a début...





Written on 18.05.2013 by I shoot people.

Sometimes, I also write about it.

And one day I'm going to start a band. We're going to be playing pun-rock.


Comments

Comments: 5   Visited by: 108 users
18.05.2013 - 00:53
Ivor
Staff
For the interested, this album is still available for a free listening on Progstreaming.

I.
----
No friends for playing games
No foes who scorn my name
Computerized machines of steel and rust
/---/
No friends in my house on Mars
No foes in my house on Mars
I was born in my house on Mars
I will die in my house on Mars
-- Ayreon - My House on Mars
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18.05.2013 - 11:42
Dylan

Really cool album, just finished up the stream.
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18.05.2013 - 20:24
Rating: 8
Diverge

All I need to see is the word "prog" and it gets listened to. That being said, great review.

EDIT: I can't say we always agree on prog (ie. I think Jolly is overhyped-- they've grown on me a bit, but they aren't anything more than potential just yet, in my honest view). But State Urge is pretty awesome from a first listen, in my view. I love how they can take classic influences (Genesis, Big Big Train, Jethro Tull) and a little dash of modern prog groups (a little bit of Riverside, maybe the instrumental tracks of Enochian Theory here and there) to produce some seamless compelling music. Illusion is a gorgeous track and the rest of the album keeps to that consistency. I wouldn't say that they have a unique sound yet, but they are definitely a band to watch for and deserve to be featured on Metal Storm, for sure. I can see the typical prog-heads on MS digging this album, so thanks for alerting us.
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21.05.2013 - 02:08
Rating: 6
Daggon
Underpaid M.D.
Well, you got me interested with your review Ivor.
It's a nice album, it has lot's of noticeable influences and as you said, even sometimes it sounds like Riverside (but not too much!). I think they found their main influences from more classic sources just as Divergenceless said above me.

Musically it is a great album, they sound like great musicians with some cool ideas that will be developed in later albums, the main downside of this album is their vocalist, it just sounds like he reeeaally needs to improve his skills if he really wants to fit into this band, at times he has a nice and mellow voice, but later his voice becomes annoying.
----
"Les vers savent qu'ils n'ont pas d'ailes, c'est pour cela qu'ils se cachent sous terre"
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22.05.2013 - 10:04
Ivor
Staff
Written by Guest on 21.05.2013 at 22:20

Well, that was unexpected. Thanks for the review, I may not have found this band otherwise.

That is truly great praise! Sharing is caring. Glad you all enjoyed it.

I.
----
No friends for playing games
No foes who scorn my name
Computerized machines of steel and rust
/---/
No friends in my house on Mars
No foes in my house on Mars
I was born in my house on Mars
I will die in my house on Mars
-- Ayreon - My House on Mars
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