Vera: Late 2008 happened to be a moment of revelation for many progressive rock fans: seven-headed collective Unitopia launched ‘The Garden’ at the world; a double album filled with delicious sympho-rock. The core of this Australian band is made up of vocalist Mark Trueack and keyboardist Sean Timms. They are responsible for the compositions. A perfect balance between progressive escapades and nearly pop-like catchiness made ‘The Garden’ end up high in many year lists. Since then, the intelligent band has been working hard behind the scenes to sequel this success in the best possible manner.
Some obstacles needed to be taken. When I interviewed the band for the previous album, their saxophonist had already left, he is replaced by Peter Raidel who does some blaring performances on ‘Artificial’. Other newcomers are Shaun Duncan on bass and Jamie Jones as one of the drummers/percussionists. But the moving of pawns on this chessboard is a matter of secondary importance, music is all that matters. In addition we can enjoy the explicit voice of Mark Trueack: sometimes he really sounds similar to Peter Gabriel (he once started in a Genesis cover band), sometimes he also gets that snippy sound of Fischer Z’s John Watts (listen to ‘Gone In The Blink Of An Eye’). Let me put it straight: I like ‘Artificial’ better than its predecessor ‘The Garden’. The latter one too much indulged in endless, less exciting, progressive escapades; especially on the second disc I lost my way in the wealthy overgrowth of their garden. This time, everything is brought back to the essence of one CD, even if it appears to be a concept album about artificial tendencies ruling our lives without improving it. Can we see this as a rebellion against materialism, earlier preached by the hippie culture? Anyway, it is the next statement of a band that combines elements of symphonic and progressive rock, world music, jazz and art rock. Sounds a bit snobby? Well, I guess you haven’t listen to the record yet…
Last days ‘Artificial’ has been the most played CD in my place. I could not get enough of the magnificent voice of Mark Trueack and the intelligent, contemplative lyrics. Some might think they are a bit pedantic, but they are evidence of conscious views. ‘Suffocation’ is a captivating intro, depicting the oppressive, anxious atmosphere pretty well. The ‘Artificial World’ is opened and illustrated by prog/jazz rhythms, while an elastic fretless bass meanders through it. The intricate musical whole is compressed to catchiness by a simple, fetching chorus. There have always been pop melodies in Unitopia songs to keep it accessible for everyone. Guitar and sax have brief solo spots. The surprise of the album is ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’. I instantly wrote down the name of The Beatles, but it appears to be a complete pastiche. Especially songs like ‘Fool On The Hill’, ‘Come Together’ and a lyrical link with the boys from Liverpool are obvious references to the Fab Four. ‘Not Human Anymore’ is a fluent prog song. Rocking semi-acoustic guitars are supported by powerful vocals, later on it becomes a bit floating. On the other hand it has a kind of rush in it, just as our current lives. Now we approach the highlights of the album. Electricity splits the night in ‘Tesla’. This song is a stunner! Forget that you love metal for a moment. It is sung in a wonderful manner, it is kind of jazz/pop invigorated by a symphonic orchestra. A dreamy passage leads to a sudden change, featured by percussion (with funky flavours and ethnic world music reference). Salsa? Violins? And then suddenly we have those nearly mellifluent harmony vocals: We are, we are all parts of the whole. I know, Unitopia sometimes sound very polite and well-mannered, but I love singing along with it and remain enchanted by the following ‘Reflections’. Here Peter Gabriel-alike vocals reign and it still moves me. Unitopia is a band full of surprises. Suddenly we are in the middle of a cartoon (‘The Power Of 3’) and next are two mainly prog allied tracks (with harmony vocals reminding me of Yes). Saxophonist Peter Raidel has clear field. He plays a bit too many solos for me in those songs, but some of you will like it of course. I prefer the thoughtful final track ‘The Great Reward’ and again mainly due to intriguing vocals. Now we can speak of a masterpiece.
Unitopia has learned how to cut in their wealthy garden; that’s why ‘Artificial’ is better than ‘The Garden’. The European first edition includes three bonus tracks, the so-called ‘Relative World’ song cycle (sixteen minutes). One of the bonus tracks, ‘This Time, I Think We Got It Right’, can be discovered in the video under this review (very beautiful scenery of space by the man who is responsible for their artwork Ed Unitsky).
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