Tom Gavornik,
Soul Cry
(Broken Swing, 2006)


There is a lot of music on the two discs of Tom Gavornik's Soul Cry. Almost all of the tracks are instrumental soundscapes, and the music on the one song in the set would be another if it dropped the lyrics.

The drums are the focus of the music in "What You Lose, is What You Find" as the other musicians join in for spots through the piece. "Rainy Days, Comic Book Dreams" is a very long soundscape, running over 20 minutes. It starts with the mood of being inside on a rainy day, then shifts to play and the imagination. The ending notes bring the music back to rest again. The lyrics of "Anger" are spoken by anger as it speaks of itself; it is disturbing in places and the music adds to those feelings. Gavornik sets down a piece of more than 20 minutes in "One More Lullaby," and it would be a lovely piece to fall asleep to. It might not quite be a lullaby in some ways, but it does fit in tone if not always in energy.

The longest piece on the two CDs is "The Grieving Path." The length suits the piece allowing it to explore the theme of the title. The piece is very intense, and this combined with the length may make it too much because of the emotions it explores. Towards the end of the piece it moves past grief into healing.

"Hostage, No More (guitar version)" is laid back, allowing you to rest through the piece. The bass guitar version of "Hostage, No More" feels much the same, even if the sound is slightly different and it is a bit shorter. The music winds down in "Final Sting" as the piece feels like the reverse of a warm up.

Soul Cry is about the music, the emotions and images that notes can convey, and as long as some of the pieces are, they do not come to feel like they are too long.

[ visit the artist's website ]




Rambles.NET
review by
Paul de Bruijn

27 October 2007






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