Farmhouse Odyssey – Rise Of The Waterfowl (2016)

This is one of the bands who actually discovered me through my review work, and asked me if I was interested in writing an album review for their second album named Rise Of The Waterfowl. This was a though album to review, because these gentlemen made something quite brilliant. I love the album sleeve, the bright colours and the psychedelic look of it makes me curious… And the music fits the album artwork!

Farmhouse Odyssey are from California USA, and the music itself sounds also very summery. Sometimes it reminds me of a band named The Tea Club, but Farmhouse Odyssey’s music more calm and serene compared to them. It’s progressive and fusion music, with folky and jazzy outtakes. A track by track review for this album is kind of difficult, because some of the musical passages in the songs are hard to describe.

Daybreak starts very dreamy with a guitar and some soundscapes. I love the bass that kicks in after four and a half minutes, and the song also starts to become more interesting and weird. Slumberless Sun is a slightly gloomy track and has a lovely mellotron part halfway. Brain Song is jazzy, and the guitar solo towards the end of the track is neatly done. Calligraphy has a nice rhythm and the guitars sound funky. Space Revealed is an instrumental song, and can really be categorized as fusion. The outro has some haunting moments, a very good drum solo and a guitar solo. Shipwreck is quite up tempo with experimental passages here and there. Speedbump Catalyst is with nearly 16 minutes the longest track on the album, divided in four sections. After four and a half minutes the song opens up and becomes more vivacious and experimental, followed by a (solo) piano part, slowly dressed up with more instruments surrounding it. Most parts of the song reminds me of Mike Oldfield and Spock’s Beard’s earlier music. This is my favourite track on the album. Safe Passage is only one minute long, and is a beautiful piano solo with some mellotron in the background. From The Night Sky is a more gloomy and serene track, and becomes more energetic towards the end.

There’s a lot happening in the music, a lot of theme chances during the tracks, but they sound very natural. The production is very good, making this album very enjoyable to listen to. This is something you can turn on in the background because it doesn’t need your full attention, and somehow you still follow the music. A recommendation!

***** Iris Hidding

1. Daybreak (6:29)
2. Slumberless Sun (4:29)
3. Brain Song (6:09)
4. Calligraphy (7:28)
5. Space Revealed (8:30)
6. Shipwreck (5:47)
7. Speedbump Catalyst (15:56)
   1. Upon The Wheel
   2. Blessing In Disguise
   3. Energetic Tides
   4. The Road Alone
8. Safe Passage (1:09)
9. From The Night Sky (4:12)

https://farmhouseodyssey.bandcamp.com/music

You can also read my review on the website of Background Magazine:

http://backgroundmagazine.nl/CDreviews/FarmhouseOdysseyRiseOfTheWaterfowl.html

You can listen to several tracks here:

Liked what you’ve read? Please feel free to sponsor me, so I can continue providing you interviews, reviews, stories and more fun stuff of your favourite bands and artists! Click on the ‘Donate’ button on the top left side of the page (or click on the plus on the top left side of the page when you’re reading this on your mobile device/tablet). You don’t need a PayPal account to donate! Just one dollar/euro/pound can help me a lot! Read about what happens with your donation money here. Thank you very much! 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & Google +! Subscribe by entering you email address, or click on the follow button when you already have a WordPress account, so you will get my latest posts automatically in your inbox!