Short Reviews [Dr. Coenobite - 2020 - "Mysteries of Life"]

Multi-instrumentalist Coen Vrouwenvelder is back with his seventeenth album, which is a concept based on the mysteries of life. Delving further, he states “Of course meaning all the beautiful phenomena created by nature or unknown reasons (e.g., like Stonehenge), but also made by us (just like art, music, science, electronic devices, and so on). However, there is a devastating ‘undercurrent’ going on concerning climate changes, war, hate, hunger and finally a pandemic with an enormous impact (on all of us).” I reviewed Coen’s debut all the way back in 1993, and over the years he has certainly released some interesting work. Again, this is a solo album, with Coen providing guitars, bass, vocals, flute, gu zheng, pipa, harp, dulcimer, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, Sound Libraries, programming & SFX. Coen is the first to admit that his singing leaves something to be desired, but he felt the lyrics were so important that he needed to sing them himself as opposed to getting someone else in. I understand his rationale, but it would have been interesting to hear what someone else may have done with the material, as while Coen is a fine musician with some fascinating musical ideas, a different singer would have made an impact, as there is no doubt that apart from the vocals this is one of his most polished and accomplished albums to date. There are times when this is quite folky in nature, others when it is symphonic and blasting, and one of his strengths is the way he brings in different instruments to provide additional textures. The use of a gu zheng (a Chinese Zither) to provide an Irish feel on the introduction of “Back to the Source” is a nice touch, as is the use of dulcimer (an instrument I have always felt should be utilized more heavily). “Journey Of Life” starts with quite an oriental style, before switching into something more Western, while “The Sourceress” is inspired by Saint-Saens’ “The Swan” and feels both familiar and different at the same time. Coen continues to remain an underground artist, hidden in the sub layers of the underground, yet he keeps putting out albums which are certainly enjoyable, and he should be far more widely known. All his material is available on Bandcamp so why not give him a try?