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Darrel Treece-Birch: Healing Touch
Darrel Treece-Birch - Healing Touch CD Album Review

Darrel Treece-Birch Healing Touch

Melodic Progressive Rock
3.5/5.0

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Melodic Revolution Records
Review: Craig Hartranft
Added: 25.10.2017

Darrel Treece-Birch, as a composer and musician, is becoming prolific in his output. This year's Healing Touch is his third solo project in the same amount of years. And that's beside his other day jobs with Nth Ascension and Ten. With this album Treece-Birch did everything, and I mean everything, a totally DIY project. This includes all things from composition to musicianship (including all instruments), recording to mastering, album artwork to photography.

Darrel Treece-Birch Photo

Darrel Treece-Birch

The first thing to say about Healing Touch is that it's a totally instrumental album of melodic (and ambient) progressive rock. When pitched to me, I did not know that, but should have had some inkling of the same, considering Treece-Birch's previous material. My bad. I stopped reviewing instrumental material some two years, simply because I find it too laborious to decipher and then describe.

Nevertheless and without pandering fanfare, suffice to say that Treece-Birch is an exceptional composer and musician. He also completely understands his chosen genre: ambient neo-classical melodic progressive rock. His songs are large on melody, harmony, and lush atmospheres. At this point, perhaps a quote from my review of No More Time would be appropriate to describe this work: "Obviously, the keyboard parts are substantial, but he also seems to favor an abundance of guitar lines and solos. The character of the music is largely atmospheric, ethereal, and orchestral, then having, simply, a light melodic rock timbre." In other words, in the best sense, Healing Touch is both a continuation and repetition of previous works and Treece-Birch's inherent musical style. Having said that, I found myself drawn more towards the songs with stronger guitar parts such as The Stand or No Fear Here. Mostly, though, Healing Touch reminds me of the music you'd hear playing in the background at some New Age bookstore and head shop. You might want to play this album at your next wine and cheese party, where the music will meddle with your guests' inhibitions. Then when you're guests are lulled by the music and wine into both a dreamy and alcoholic nirvana, you can introduce them to Darrel Treece-Birch. Essentially, if you liked any of his previous solo work, you will be pleased with the ambient and melodic progressive rock of Healing Touch.



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The Bottom Line

Essentially, if you liked any of Darrel Treece-Birch's previous solo work, you will be pleased with the ambient and melodic progressive rock of Healing Touch.

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