| Release Entry was last updated on 2/14/2009
by DBSilver |
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RECORDING INFORMATION |
Released in March 2009 by HWT-records (LC: 15775), a division of Sony BMG.
The following description comes from the band:
"December 29, 1935 Antoine de Saint-Exupery took off in an attempt at a long distance flight from Paris to Saigon. He crashed in the Desert many hours later stranded with his co pilot Prevot. Later he recounted his experience in a book called Wind, Sand and Stars and this story forms the basis of the Tick Tock album. After Night the hypnotic repetition of a single bar of music that is changed by the chords and the songs on top of it still held a seductive charm for Gazpacho and though Night dabbled in this, Tick Tock wallows.
"The metaphor of a desert walk represented by a ticking clock may not be sublime but by golly the music is in moments. The apathetic underscore of a sweltering almost synthy loop which really is a b4 organ played through a guitar amp and a sequencer brings at first hesitation then desperation then more hesitation and then something happens and you get sucked into a glassy mood.
"Almost as if you were walking a long and lonely walk in the desert where there is only you, the stars, wind and sand, the sound of your footsteps softened by the burning sand and heard only through the bones of the body."
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| COMMENTS & REVIEWS |
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Nuno
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Published on: 26 Mar 2009
When Marillion released Marbles, I had this secret wish that the band would go for the marvelous styling proposed by tracks such as The Invisible Man or Ocean Cloud in which the band seemed to adopt a post-rock or emotional progressive attitude. The set back that it was for me to discover that Marillion did nothing to sequence that was huge and I thought that something beautiful and thoughtful had been lost…until I listened to the album Night by Norway band Gazpacho.
The aforementioned album has been a companion since then, because a part of my musical tastes are quite consonant with that musicality: slow paced, slightly dark, very emotional exploitation of soft yet thoughtful atmospheres. And this was perfectly captured by Gazpacho, in a way that made me think that this band hailing from Norway substituted the Marillion in a purpose I really believe they should have followed. To be more specific, and please strictly see this as a very own opinion, Gazpacho has been doing the music that Marillion could and/or should…
While this new gem of an album that is Tick Tock starts in a more fast paced and slightly aggressive tone, much in a Muse path, the rest of the album keeps the pursuit and experimentation of very atmospheric, many times eerie tapestries, in an emotional and focused way.
The band simply takes its time to implement and fully explore the potentialities provided by its chosen musicality, adding sorts of “nocturnal” neo-classic parts that not only enrich the music but that seems to make the listener lift of and taking him in a contemplative flight over a beautiful but dark world. This is a band that really makes me imagine landscapes while listening to their music.
Like previously said, I see Gazpacho’s approach as an intermediate status between purest post-rock and something I would call atmospheric/emotional progressive rock. To tell you the truth, and to finally reveal this little secret of mine, I simply love this band since Firebird.
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Marc
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Published on: 11 Mar 2009
Gazpacho have taken their name from a Marillion track and, beginning with their first album, they have been associated with the Hogarth led incantation of that band. Two years ago they put out the excellent Night, a fifty plus minute suite that featured some dark and oppressive, yet melodic music that was, in my opinion, their best effort to date and one of the better prog albums of that year. Now they come back with Tick Tock, another concept album featuring two epic tracks sandwiched in between two shorter ones. I must admit to being surprised with the opener, "Desert Flight", a pretty rocking affair that reminded me more of The Pineapple Thief or The Butterfly Effect than of Marillion. A great beginning to this album. The two epic lenght tracks brought more of what I was expecting from Gazpacho, that is some very melodic and melancholic music, slow to develop and not very inclined to rock. This is pretty much in line with what they offered us on Night, but the mood is not as dark. Fans of Marillion's Brave should really enjoy this music. The last track, "
Winter is never" is a short and pretty positive track that ends the album on a good note. All in all Gazpacho has offered us a very good successor to Night, showing some evolution but also continuity. Those that are disappointed with recent Marillion albums should check Gazpacho out, Tick Tock perhaps being the best place to get to know them, even though Night would also do the trick. Tick Tock is an easy album to recommend indeed, and will certainly find it's way to my cd player on numerous occasions. A+++
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| TRACKS |
CREDITS
(click to view performer credits) |
PROGGNOSIS SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
(click to view Release Page) |
- Desert Flight (7:39)
- The Walk (13:41)
- Tick Tock (22:24)
- Winter is never (4:55)
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