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Fontanelle: Vitamin F
Fontanelle: Vitamin F
Progressive Rock Fusion
4.5/5.0
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Southern Lord Records
by Craig Hartranft, 10.17.2012
Sometimes I get pitched material right out of left field, something that doesn't fit in context. Oregon based Fontanelle and their third full length album, Vitamin F, comes on Southern Lord Records, mostly known for their heavy doom-sided music. But Fontanelle plays this tripped and tricked out progressive rock fusion, often bordering on improvisation.
Fontanelle: guy in back, land surfing.
Like most vitamins, Vitamin F is a good pill to swallow. Here's six guys using a mixture of guitars, drums, bass, keyboards and samples, and horns to create this groovy sound venturing into areas akin to Seventies fuzzy pyschedelia to Eighties jazz fusion to modern shoeqaze improvisation.
It's definitely some unique stuff, but not exactly the stuff for dinner music and probably more challenging than most rockers or headbangers would be willing to tackle. Frankly, I like the horns laced through most every song, but especially on The Adjacent Possible and Reassimilate, both real knotty arrangements. Mostly, I like that Fontanelle reminds me of a cross between Chick Corea, Weather Report, and Miles Davis. After hours, nearly daily, listening to hard rock and various genres of heavy metal, it's nice to get out my comfort zone and drift back to my higher brow Eighties post college days where Metallica shared time with Billy Cobham and Pat Metheny.
Easily recommended.
In Short
Fontanelle's Vitamin F is a supplement you want to take; it will boost your taste for creative and challenging prog rock fusion.
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Formed 23 years ago, Finland's Excalion has had a turbulent musical career. Before releasing a trio of albums between 2005 and 2010, they had personnel changes. Currently, only the drummer and keyboard ... [ Read More ]