Russian instrumental outfit Vespero is back with their latest effort entitled Surpassing All Kings. Although it's only been about two years since their last studio album Rito, the richly layered arrangements, stunning atmospherics and brilliant improvisational qualities of that record certainly raised the bar for ensuing releases. Not to mention the band received their fair share of critical acclaim for it as well.

So is Surpassing All Kings up for the task? Well the easy and quick answer to that is a resounding yes, and for a couple of reasons. Firstly, while the band's approach to how they selected the material was different this time around in that Surpassing All Kings marked the first time the group elected to record all new compositions instead of piecing together older sessions, the end result is an album that has a slightly more cohesive flow to it than its predecessor. Secondly, when a band has spent a good deal of time over the years slowly refining their sound as Vespero have, only the slightest tweaking is necessary to further develop it, so in that regard Surpassing All Kings certainly feels like a natural extension of Rito, with only a few minor variances.

Once again recorded by Alisa Coral (Space Mirrors, Psi Corps) the emphasis is back to delivering heaping amounts of long, spacey sounding instrumental passages and multi-shifting tempos, which are executed at the drop of a hat and with razor like precision, thus each composition feels like it's in a perpetual state of change. The light and shade element and how effectively they play the dark, brooding sections off of the lighter textures, is in my opinion the biggest reason why their music is so compelling and keeps the listener fully engaged from beginning to end. The early psychedelic Pink Floyd and jazz tinged, Space Rock/ Kraut rock influences are still in abundance throughout, but the vocal chanting for example on a track like "Serata" adds a bit of a Zeul like feel as well.

Surpassing All Kings proves that Rito wasn't a fluke and in all actuality it may be the stronger of the two albums. Once again these five supremely talented musicians have proven they are more than capable of giving you an hour's worth of stunningly complex and thought provoking music. My only issue here is that I can't give this disc a higher score and that's because when I originally reviewed Rito I gave it the maximum five stars. I didn't think they'd be able to top it, but in the end that's exactly what they've done, go figure.

Track Listing
1) Glass Rainbow (A Sign)
2) Salma Simiere (Cross and Crown)
3) The Tower (XVI)
4) Lino (Similar They Spake)
5) Serata (i.n.s.i.e.m.e.)
6) Glide (Like a Swan)
7) Sever (Surpassing All Kings)

Added: September 24th 2009
Reviewer: Ryan Sparks
Score:
Related Link: RAIG
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Language: english

VESPERO - Surpassing All Kings

7 songs
54:59 minutes
***** ****
RAIG

Bandpage

Sometimes it’s good when bands start out slowly, like Russian psychedelic rockers Vespero who released tons of self-released CD-Rs before they finally came with their first proper studio album Rito two years ago. Using their early years to hone their craft, their label debut consisted of newly arranged and recorded songs from their previous outputs. Since then, they released two more live albums and are now back with their second studio record Surpassing All Kings, their first containing fully new written material.

If I had to criticise the band’s occasional lack of focus on the debut, I can assure that this problem has been solved, leaving us this time with an impeccable album that I would not have expected from Vespero. Cutting back on atypical instruments like violin and flute, the Russians rely this time on a straightforward rock instrumentation. Apart from an accordion featured on the album’s last track, we get only guitar, synthesizers, bass, drum and vocals. The band has basically still the same line-up, and it shows that they are growing together as a collective. The rhythm section is not just functional but also playful. The guitar has a lot of room to enchant with magnificently complex riffs and solos, and the warm synthesizer sounds take care to build a counterweight to the six-stringer. Above all this trumps the mesmerising voice of Natalya Tujrina that switches between regular vocal delivery and occasional spine shivering screams.

The album may have seven tracks, but Surpassing All Kings feels more like a fifty-five minute long sonic journey, with an incredible flow hardly witnessed in such complex music. Vespero are deeply rooted in early British psychedelic rock. But they take care to add complex rhythms and splendid interplaying between guitar and keyboard that remind of Seventies progressive rock. Add occasional jazzy atmospheres that seem to be taken straight out of Canterbury, and the final result sound like Hatfield and the North jamming with Gong with a superb vocalist that neither of those legendary bands ever had.

If Rito was already quite an excellent album, Surpassing All Kings has turned out not even better, but might very well be the best album released so far on their label. The warm production, courtesy of Alisa Coral (Space Mirrors, Psi Corps), furthermore helps to create an authentic Seventies aura, but Vespero feel at no time like mere revivalists. Instead they recreate an organic progressive psychedelic sound that sets them on the same level as the artists who have inspired them. Russian music may still be quite an overlooked thing in Western Europe, but if you want to lay your hands on a really good piece of structured free-form music, this is definitely the place to start