"Being a big Dream Theater fan, I naturally listened to "Dead Air For Radios" when it was released. That was a very good album, and in a way my introduction to electronica. Now some years hence, I am a wannabe one-man musician, and I can say this for sure, "You Go Now" inspires me to write music. The mood, the hooks, the lo-fi drums, the intelligent sampling are all wonderful. Listening to songs like "Lunar" made me go back and listen to "Space Dye Vest" from Dream Theater's "Awake", and it seems like a natural progression, and an indication of perhaps why Kevin left. In the end that decision worked out for everyone as DT got my favorite keyboard player (Jordan Rudess) to handle that chore, while Kevin is now a great writer of intelligent, spacey electronica, and mere mortals like me get to enjoy both.I am amazed that "You Go Now" has not received wider acclaim, since this is one of the best albums of the past few years. I can't wait to hear what the OSI project sounds like."
Music for a lonely late-night drive
Stephen Kohoutek | Plymouth, MN United States | 12/07/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album is all about atmosphere. There's some excellent musicianship present, some quality composition, and some intriguing lyrics, but in the end this album is about eliciting an emotion. It's music for driving alone, late at night, halfway through a long journey.There are no bad songs on this disc, and removing any of them would lessen the album's impact. The first track serves as a moody, sweeping introduction, immediately setting the tone for the rest of the album. The second track introduces the other half of the album's sound, the more ambient half, and it's full speed ahead from there. "Lunar" is spectacular, a bossa nova take on the Crystal Method's "High Roller," if you can imagine that. "Please Hang Up" is absurdly bizzare, but is also achingly beautiful. "Astronaut Down" is the last anthemic blast, and the album winds down with "You Go Now," a perfect echo of everything that's come before. It's hard to imagine an album better suited to a lonely night on the interstate.This is not a perfect album, but it's closer than I could come. If you plan on driving through Iowa at about 10 PM in the near future, this is a must-own."
Great
Daniel | Sta Fe de Bogotá, Colombia | 05/09/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I think this is a path that kevin moore needed to follow since "a change of sesons", you could feel in in "space die vest".
This is a great album, ideal for sitting back and smoking a cigarette, i hope Kevin gets the credit he deserves for in"
Worth It Even At The Import Price
J. Merritt | 07/08/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I never dug Dream Theater, from which Kevin Moore went solo to form Chroma Key, and frankly I don't recall how I stumbled across this album. It might've been an "If you like this, you might also like this" suggestion from Amazon or somewhere. I can't say. I wish I could, because I'm indebted to whoever-or whatever-recommended it to me.
The presence of a band name is deceptive: There really isn't one. This 2000 release is almost entirely the work of Moore. The album is a follow-up to 1998's "Dead Air For Radio," which has its moments-especially the closing track "Hell Mary"-but is not nearly the equal of this atmospheric masterpiece. In fact, "Hell Mary" might've been more at home here, because it fits in with the general coldness-of-space, ambient-prog aesthetic that runs through this entire record.
"You Go Now" combines a remarkable sense of brooding and mood-it's no wonder Moore's gone on to do soundtrack work-with smart, languid melodies that pull you in after repeated listening. My personal favorite is "Another Permanent Address," and I would suggest this as a place to start if you're checking out song samples online. There is also a sense of foreboding in much of the lyrical content, though the album is not without a sense of humor: "Please Hang Up" has such a spacy, haunting quality that I had to hear it several times before I realized that the caller is dialing emergency, only to be told that the number has been changed. There's also this perfectly judged description of the awkwardness of returning to single life from "Astronaut Down:" "I found myself back in the bachelor scene...Feel like an astronaut in a submarine." How can you not buy an album with a lyric like that?
Prog fans, stop here and buy. You will not be disappointed. Dream Theater fans, on the other hand, might want to take note: Mr. Moore has stepped far afield from his former gig. This sounds nothing like it. I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm just lettin' you know.