Detailed Reviews [Yesterdays – 2011 - "Colours Caffe"]

Prolusion. YESTERDAYS is a band, whose members, although ethnic Hungarians, all reside in Romania. A follow-up to their debut effort "Holdfenykert" from 2006 (which was reviewed by Olav, my sole workmate on the site), “Colours Caffe” marks my first acquaintance with their work.

Analysis. I believe there were a few friends of the musicians’ in the studio where/when they were recording this “Colours Caffe”, as most of the pauses between tracks are filled up with handclaps – by no means real applause that suggests the event took place at concert in a club, even in a very small one. Well, there are eleven tracks on the album, of which (not counting a few brief cuts – to be viewed last of all) only the two that it begins with, Jatek and Forog a Tanc, are performed up-tempo, on their instrumental level each instantly evoking Camel’s “I Can See Your House from Here” and “Big Generator” by Yes respectively. Although heavily influenced and quite repetitive as well (especially within their vocal sections), both better suit my taste than any of the album’s other pieces, save Babu, which is the richest in instrumental sections, to say the least. All of the other compositions that exceed two minutes in length are in pace either slow or moderately slow. Three of those, Nemafilm Szvit I, Nemafilm Szvit II and Zapor, each contain a few instrumental interludes, whilst the remaining two, Megpihensz and Nemafilm Szvit III, are more than merely vocal-heavy and are, so to speak, 100-percent ballads. However, it would be unfair not to mention that while all of these songs are either comparatively or openly straightforward, the diversity of keyboard and guitar tones on most of them is satisfying and keeps the listener from developing fatigue resulting from sameness. Zsolt Enyedi’s organ playing reminds me at times of Tony Kaye, while when the keyboardist switches over to synthesizers, the Moog in particular, his soloing is reminiscent of Rick Wakeman’s. The flute parts often bring to mind the name of Andy Latimer, as also do Akos Bogati-Bokor’s electric guitar leads, albeit a couple of the tracks reveal also ones that are distinctly bluesy, at least in approach. The man’s acoustic guitar parts are in turn rather original, those on Megpihensz remarkable in all senses. The bass and drums form a solid rhythm section which, however, never leaves a basic groove. Most of the lead vocals are provided by women and may remind listeners of probably any female-fronted prog rock band: from Renaissance to Magenta. All the singing is in Hungarian (but isn’t unfriendly to the ears), with plenty of multi-part harmonies in places. The remaining three tracks, Tukor, Flautoccata and Preludium Egy Esohoz, are all cuts in fact, but the first two of them are more or less full-fledged compositions. Tukor is a folk rock song, fairly jovial – which is the prevailing mood on the entire album. Flautoccata and Preludium Egy Esohoz are the only instrumentals here. The first of them is performed without drums, but most of it reminds me somehow of Art-Rock in style anyway. The latter piece finds a guitar and trumpet moving slowly, as if groping their way; accompanied by synth effects and occasional drum beats.

Conclusion. Despite the fact that the keyboards all have a distinct vintage quality to them, I’d classify this album on the more adventurous one of Pomp Rock (or on the less adventurous side of ‘classic’ Neo Prog, e.g. Pallas, Pendragon, Shadowland) – unlikely to be of interest to more experimentally-oriented listeners, but it should fully satisfy those who enjoy Mostly Autumn, Karnataka and suchlike outfits.

VM=Vitaly Menshikov: May 8, 2012
The Rating Room