Rating: **1/2
I fancy myself as a bit of a prog-rock nerd. I dig King Crimson and Rush. Don't even get me started about how much I love the early Dream Theater records. Suffice to say I was intrigued by Cincinnati progressive group Fracktura. They have an EP called "Occulus" out and I was thrilled to give it a listen to see what they are all about.
Let's get proggy!
Listen to "Oculus" on Bandcamp below:
The album starts with You. Gorgeous gothic sounding vocal harmonies to start. It sets a mood, that's for sure. Piano starts with the verse. The vocals are gorgeous. This isn't exactly what I was expecting but it's definitely interesting. Track two is Gold Spectrum. This one is a little more uptempo. Musically it's got a signature mathematic style that makes every great prog-rock band great. This one is kinda creepy (not that the first song wasn't). It's got a cool sax part between the verse. What it lacks in melody, it makes up for in ambience. The Fear Peddler is next and it's probably the most King Crimson sounding tune of the bunch. I'm not sure any of these would be considered strong singles but this one is probably the closest to that. The EP ends with Identidade. This sounds like an awesome song to do witchcraft to. The lyrics aren't in English, but they don't have to be. You get the idea. A strong ending to what I would consider a fairly odd affair.
Occulus is interesting. It's not a bad outing, but it isn't something I could see myself going back to for repeated listening either. Prog-rocker types might find it a little slow, but there's probably something here for them to vibe with. Not bad.
Keep up with Fracktura here:
Website: https://fracktura.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrackturaOfficial