Astronomy Made Easy

Album Review

The Virginia-based quartet known as Boud Deun render an amalgamation of '70s-style progressive rock along with asymmetrical doses of fusion on their inaugural release for Cuneiform Records. No doubt, this is high-octane stuff, as the musicians' surge forward with contemporary motivations while conjuring up notions of King Crimson amid some of the fireworks and pounding polyrhythms exhibited by the Mahavishnu Orchestra. On this 1997 effort, listeners are treated to guitarist Shawn Persinger and violinist Greg Hiser's blistering unison lines atop a plethora of twists, turns, and burgeoning undercurrents. However, it is not all about pyrotechnics and cutting contests, as the compositional frameworks enable the musicians to expound upon previously explored motifs via a series of tightly coordinated arrangements. One minor complaint here is that drummer Rocky Cancelose's kit may have been mixed a bit too high during the engineering process, as he inadvertently contends with the soloists, although this may be a matter of preference. Nevertheless, progressive rock needs more outfits like Boud Deun.