Pochakaite Malko - Laya (2004)

The second and final album from this Japanese band.

The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of violin, electric violin, bass, drums, tabla, percussions, piano and keyboards. Two guest provided oud and voices.

The band returned for one final album, three years after the release of their self-titled debut album. An album I liked a lot.

The band still provides us with avant-garde prog. The band has dropped the zeuhl influences and gone for a more lighter, sunnier sound. There are still a lot of Univers Zero hanging around. In particular from the halfway mark and out to the end of this album.

The dominating factor here is the electric and acoustic violins. Mostly the electric violins pared up with some piano and bass. Some chugging guitars are also evident here. Mostly at the end of the album, though.

There is also a lot of chamber-rock sounding stuff here. Stuff which does not sound that great. The band is at their best when they turn off the sound and goes into a much more darker territory. Their hellish dystopies suits this band far better than the light and sunny chamber-rock elements this album starts off with.

There is a lot of good stuff here. Even some very good stuff. On balance, this is a good album and well worth checking out.

3 points