Band: IZZ
Album: Everlasting Instant
Reviewer: Nick from When Prog and Power Unite
Let me start with a confession. Two IZZ releases have come and gone with people suggesting I check them out, and both times I let their albums slip through the cracks. This changed with their newest release, Everlasting Instant. From the very start of the album I enjoyed the lack of denseness in the music. Too often bands seemingly play all their instruments, all the time, creating walls of sound that get packed into the music. Clear keyboard or guitar melodies often lead the way, without a plethora of other instrumental gymnastics fighting for ear space in the background. Where you will probably notice more immediately is that IZZ features four vocalists, two women and two men, who split the lead vocals and complement each other very well.
It took me a few listens to truly notice, but the bass parts on the album truly shine through when the tempo and groove pick up. The bass work throughout the album is top notch, but when it takes lead, such as the instrumental section on the song “Keep Away”, it certainly stands out. Intentional or not, that track also happens to have the only bit of musical déjà vu on the album, with a guitar part in the middle being strikingly similar to a part of Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime. Now get that album out of your mind, as overall they are absolutely nothing alike! A much fairer comparison of overall sound, at times, might be ELO.
To me, the biggest knock against the album is its slow start. I know that others may certainly disagree, but I find it isn’t till halfway through the album, at the title track, that songs really start to grab my attention. Don’t misunderstand, I find everything up to that point enjoyable, but I tend to recall the closing tracks when I think about the album, and not the opening tracks. In a rarity for a release of any genre, particularly an album that isn’t a concept album, I actually find the final three tracks, “Illuminata”, “Sincerest Life”, and “Like a Straight Line” to be the albums strongest. One reason for this is that in the latter half of the album I find a greater abundance of quality keyboard parts in more prominent roles.
As I mentioned earlier, the album features four vocalists, and as a general rule I’d say if you have people who can sing well, use them, and IZZ certainly does. While neither keyboardist/vocalist Tom Galgano, nor bassist/vocalist John Galgano has a strong enough voice to be winning American Idol anytime soon, they are very good at using their talent and weaving it into the musical tapestry, which helps IZZ carve their own musical niche. Having two male and two female singers gives the band greater flexibility in writing the vocals and not relying on guest musicians, and having that many capable voices allows them to create nice vocal harmonies, as well as giving different songs or passages different tones simply by changing the vocalist. I would argue that Anmarie Byrnes and Laura Meade might be classified as the stronger vocalists on the album, but I certainly wouldn’t have them replace any of the parts sung by the Galgano brothers. As I said, everyone has a nice comfortable spot on the album.
I am certainly impressed with the band’s ability to restrain themselves and keep their focus on the song, and not exploring musical tangents unnecessarily. There are prog bands with three of four members who would jam three times the notes into the same amount of time this seven piece outfit did on Everlasting Instant. The foundation on the album is strong, and had some of the early tracks had better staying power this would definitely be a letter grade higher. I am certainly intrigued, and will soon be rectifying my mistake of not checking out their earlier work.
