Detailed Reviews [Komie - 2018 - "Afterglow"]

Prolusion. US artist Komie has a background as a professional songwriter that have created songs for a number of different ventures and projects over the years. A few years back he wanted to create something for himself and to indulge in his own passions, and the result of this creative process was the album "Afterglow", which was self released back in the summer of 2018.

Analysis. This is one of those albums that is difficult to exactly place inside of a specific niche of the progressive rock universe, but if I had to choose somewhere to categorize this album it would be inside of the neo-progressive tradition. Not because it is a good or perfect fit there, but because it strikes me as the least flawed options among many. Atmospheric laden and accessible compositions is the order of the day here, and all of them are instrumental. This latter detail being a tad important when it comes to categorization of course, as an album of this kind with vocals might have been better suited for a slightly different categorization. Tasteful backing by keyboards and careful orchestration effects are supporting elements throughout, and the rhythm section is tight and supportive but also with enough expressive details to make them both important and integral elements in their own right. With some songs adding a bit of an emphasis on the rhythm aspect. But the start of this album is the guitar, and in this case it is a star that shines quite brightly indeed. Wandering plucked guitar runs is a staple, in acoustic as well as electric mode, and often alternating with flowing and emotional guitar solo sections that may well enter the classic crying guitar solo mode. There's also room for more impact-oriented guitar solo runs, and while the backing riffs and supportive plucked guitar details often remain unobtrusive these details are also given space and room to bite when needed or required. The flow is impeccable throughout, the transitions are smooth and the alterations are logical and interesting. This is very much a playful album, and it is also a strikingly elegant one. With a guitarist that knows his way around traditions in the rock universe as well as the classical one unless I'm much mistaken. The mix and production shine just about as bright as the material on this album. This is a joyful album to experience on quite a few levels, and everything that is going on is enhanced by the mix and production. Everything is smooth, sophisticated and crystal clear throughout. There are many artists out there that can only dream of having an album with this level of production quality. While the songs themselves doesn't strike me as having the same level of captivating identity as, say, Satriani's "Surfing with the Alien", this is a solid album on all fronts, and an album that have the qualities to captivate a lot more listeners than it has in the five years that have gone by since it was released. One very curious detail I take not of is that the songs on the CD version I have are much shorter than the songs available on the streaming services and on Bandcamp. I do not know what the story behind that is of course, but there is a 15 minute play time difference between the digital and the physical version of this album. Which will make listening to this album a bit of a different experience, depending on which version you choose to investigate.

Conclusion. If you desire to acquire an instrumental progressive rock album that have the guitar as the primary instrument, and that very broadly speaking operates inside of an atmospheric laden context with certain similarities to neo-progressive rock, then this debut solo album by US artist Komie is one that warrants a check. If you will like it, love it or cherish it will come down to subjective taste, but I'm fairly certain that for most people that give this one a shot it will be one of the more elegant albums they will have encountered in a good while.

Progmessor: December 2023
The Rating Room