House Of Not - The Walkabout Of A. Nexter Niode - Part 2 Sexus

Year of Release: 2005
Label: FreakStreet Productions
Catalog Number: FSP-CD402
Format: CD
Total Time: 61:14:00

As we learned in my review of The Walkabout Of A. Nexter Niode - Part 1 Off The Path, the "Walkabout" is a planned 5-part concept work. Here we are with The Walkabout - Part 2 Sexus. Well, as the title, or part of it suggests, sex is the running lyrical theme, underscored by the sultry arrangements of nearly every track; they slink, sidle up, rub against you provocatively? or in the case of the sleazy "Whitehouse," insistently (I thought a bit of Red Hot Chili Peppers, vocals aside). You can't help but see the whole thing as one big seduction, and not always gentle. In the story, Nexter has returned to steal Silk away from the tyrant, is rendered unconscious and awakes to find himself in a secret hideout with Silk and her servant girl? ah, what's a poor guy to do?

With Part 2, gone are the Floyd textures and in their place, fiery funky blues (and yet, you can still hear Floyd in the construction). Guitars are still front and center, though this time it's Ken (Smog) O'Gorman rather than Lou Ropolli, perhaps owing to the different style. Ropolli does contribute rhythm guitar to a pair of tracks and plays the intro to "Secret Garden." If you dig guitar rock, then this is one of the pair that will interest you. If Part 1 was languid, Part 2 is nearly non-stop action. Of course, the more seductive moments are necessarily easy and laid-back, unhurried. But as they are less atmospheric, there's far more moment than on Part 1.

The closest we get to Part 1 stylistically is the atmospheric opening piece "S?ance," which includes the sound of chirping birds and an ominous, tribal drum tattoo; the moody, gentle, lovely "Lady In Waiting," with lead vocals from Dee Brown and a hint of a Celtic feel in some of the subtle guitar effects (I kept thinking of Sinead O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U," although the vocals never get to that song's intensity); the acoustic "Black Out," where vocalist Brian Erikson sounds a bit like Mark Knoffler; the shimmery, translucent instrumental "Footnotes/Hurt" (the Floyd element is back); and parts of "Behind The Veil," which takes the feeling of "Mainstream" and "Freakstreet" and brings in a gospelly aspect to the blues.

As with Part 1, few tracks exceed four minutes - which for music in general isn't so strange, but in the prog - and prog-minded - realms, it seems odd. That being the case, let's saunter through some of the other pieces to be found here, keeping in mind the general bluesy feel that all these track share to some degree or another. After "S?ance," we get right into the heart of the matter with fiery, bluesy "Voodoo Bitch," which includes some vocal gymnastics from Erikson. There's the dark and dangerously smoldering "Icons," where drums and percussion (ex-Harem Scarem's Omar Ales) share equal billing with acidic guitar - although up in the mix, the vocals are secondary to the other two, except when O'Gorman gets to soloin' and everything else takes a step back. Tart guitar begins the initially jazzy, but mostly gospelly "Is That The Best You Can Do;" there is a brief mandolin/wispy vocals interlude, but for the most part it s cathartic, epic, full-bore expression, and just oozes "rock classic" all over it. Not for the first time, but perhaps most strongly here, I thought of the Black Crowes in terms of style and energy. "State Of The Union" starts speechy (almost Bush-like), gets preachy (truly, evangelical), and is at it's core a big 'n' heavy-groove-laden thing? molten lava rising up and taking beast form to smite all in sight. "It's Your Mother" is countrified rock, including slide guitar and a hint of a vocal twang. And somehow it also sounds a bit at times like the Allman Bros. "Secret Garden" adds the sweet sound of a sax to the mix and a lovely organ can be found in the jazzy, mid-tempo "Pipedream." Here, while the vocals aren't bad or anything, it's a piece that could just have been a warm and slinky instrumental and get the meaning across; at just over ten minutes, it's the longest track as well.

While I like this, and it's as good technically as the first part, it doesn't appeal to me in the same way as Part 1 does; maybe because I was expecting a continuation stylistically and this departure has affected my opinion, I don't know. I can see that, like Part 1, what I think of it now will only improve as I've lived with it a while longer.

Tracklisting:
S?ance (1:42) / Voodoo Bitch (3:37) / Whitehouse (4:15) / Lady In Waiting (3:42) / Icons (4:30) / Is That The Best You Can Do (4:52) / Black Out (2:07) / Footnotes/Hurt (3:16) / State Of The?Union (4:12) / Behind The Veil (5:47) / It's Your Mother (5:09) / Secret Garden (5:24) / Pipedream (10:03) / Chase The Dragon (2:31)

Musicians:
Brian Erikson - vocals, pipes, bells
Ken (Smog) O'Gorman - all guitars and mandolin
Lou Roppoli - rhythm guitar (3, 12) and intro solo (12)
A. Nexter - words and music
Matt Gormley - bass (ex. 13)
Stan Miczek - bass (13)
Chris Gormley - percussion
Omar Ales - keys (8, 10, 11, 12, 13), organ (10, 12)
Ricky Vehkavaara - rhythm guitar (3)
Dave Herman - lead guitar (6), outro solo (12)
Dennis Allard - harmonica (3)
Glenn Smith - sax (12)
Dione Taylor - vocals (6, 10, 12)
Dee Brown - vocals (2, 4)
Natalie Rogerson - backing vocals (9)
Dave Neill - backing vocals (9)
J. C. Morrison - acoustic guitar (14)
Gabrielle Oilu - voice of 'Silk'

Discography:
The Walkabout Of A. Nexter Niode - Part 1 Off The Path (2003)
The Walkabout Of A. Nexter Niode - Part 2 Sexus (2005)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin CA

Added: August 31st 2007
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: www.houseofnot.com
Hits: 3322
Language: english