专辑简介

There's a moment in “We Are Them,” the lead track on Siena Root's fourth full-length, Different Realities, where the band effortlessly and expertly channels Rush on the Canadian band's debut. On past releases, Siena Root's shown they've got the skills to pay the retro hippie rock bills, so this new foray into meatier territory was a welcome addition to an already well rounded sound. What was also noticeable was the singing, in the sense that it didn't sound much like Sartez Faraj, lead crooner on the band's last full-length, Far From the Sun (their website confirms he's no longer with the band, thanks to the usual “creative differences”). Nor did it sound like Sanya, the vocalist on sophomore release Kaleidoscope, or original frontman Oskar Lundstrom. Which means the band once again is sallying forth with a different voice. That sort of line-up inconsistency is never a good thing – something the remaining, core members of Siena Root took to heart, as eight out of ten songs on Different Realities are instrumental (the unnamed singer pops up a second time on “As We Return,” a more-or-less refrain of the opening number). The lack of a vocals doesn't hinder the band musically - in fact, the argument could be made that they could've gone this route a long time ago and been none the worse for it. “Over the Mountain,” for instance, is an excellent freewheeling 60's acid jam. Side B is predominantly a stab at Eastern influenced music, and while it goes on a little too long, the additional instrumentation was well done (especially the kazoo in “Ahir Bhairav”). And the band ties that s t y l e back with their more classic rock leanings (including the Rush-like moments) with “Jog,” another lengthy opus that gets where it needs to go without hurry and yet never gets boring. Since the band does an admirable job without a singer, it makes one wonder why “We Are Them” and “As We Return” were included on Different Realities. Those two songs are well done (in fact, “We Are Them” remains my favorite), but they still seem out of place amidst the instrumental tracks. Ultimately, I have to consider Different Realities as a transitional album, one where the band's asking themselves and the listener whether it's worth the aggravation starting all over again with yet another vocalist or if they should let the music do the talking. I lean more towards the former, and I wish the band all the luck in making that happen. John Pegoraro -Stonerrock.com