Search - Flower Kings :: Space Revolver

Hit Or Miss?

E. Minkovitch | Montreal, Quebec | 10/03/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"With the Flower Kings, it's always hit or miss when a new album comes out, and this one is no different. A rather poor album overall, which pulls into all sorts of different directions, without much glue to hold it all together. FK have introduced hard rock and pop-rock elements into their sound, which bogs the album down - you get songs that move along nicely, only to be jarred to a halt by the next tracks, so the album does not build any momentum. That said, there are some truly amazing tracks on this album. The 15-minute epic I am the sun Part 1, Rumble Fish Twist and Chicken Farmer Song, are almost worth the price alone. I Am The Sun Part Two sort of puts things back into gear again, but it requires some patience, as it's one of those slow building songs which gather momentum slowly. It's a lush rhapsodic piece, whose only fault is that that expected climax never comes and the song closes softly, as it began. It would have been a great album if FK exercised a bit of judgement, and not cluttered it so unnecessarily with second rate material. There is a line in one of the songs that goes "how can you possibly fit all that in your mouth?" That should read "how can you possibly fit all that in your ears?".



To resume, four excellelent songs on this album are

1. I am the sun Part I (many interesting solos and great themes)

2. Rumble Fish Twist (chopzilla prog-fusion at its best)

3. Chicken Farmer Song (nice bright piece, very much in the old English prog style)

4. I am the sun Part II (lush, rhapsodic and symphonic closer)

That would be enough music for a tight 40 minute album, instead of a gagging 70-minute whopper."