Xavi Reija
Resolution
MoonJune Records
2014
When the Editor in Chief gave me this CD he asked me to take a look at the cover. I took a glance but I didn’t notice anything. He then told me to look at it upside down. Ha!! All the truth enclosed revealed itself at once! There are only three colors, light blue (the backdrop), white and black. The sea is above and the gravity is negative! So how is all of this stuff connected to the music? First we have to take a look at the track titles, here are some of them: “Flying to Nowhere”, “Dreamer”, “Gravity”, “The Land of the Sirenians”, “Abyss”, “Shadow Dance”, “Macroscope”…
“Resolution” is a totally esoteric album by the gifted drummer Xavi Reija, created with the aid of two other great musicians, Dusan Jeftovic on guitars and Bernat Hernadez on bass. I think that these three guys are friends and know each other very well (just watch their jams at YouTube), so it was very easy to understand Xavi’s vision.
Reija is a true master musician who is able to play anything he wants, but this is also true for the other two guys of the trio. Bernad Hernadez reminded me of Patrick ‘O’ Hearn in old Zappa’s live recordings, and Dusan’s elegant use of volume pedal together with his great ability to create musical landscapes based on beautifully structured chord progressions, create “the three colors” in the album.
I regard this album as an early but honest attempt by Reija to express his own world. Is that easy for a listener to grasp it? Sometimes yes, other times no, but this is totally subjective. So it is unfair even to attempt to rate an album like this one so I give it to you to form your own opinion. After all, this is a matter of taste. But I assure you that if these guys ever perform at my town I would not miss the opportunity to enjoy them live!
“Resolution” is a totally esoteric album by the gifted drummer Xavi Reija, created with the aid of two other great musicians, Dusan Jeftovic on guitars and Bernat Hernadez on bass. I think that these three guys are friends and know each other very well (just watch their jams at YouTube), so it was very easy to understand Xavi’s vision.
Reija is a true master musician who is able to play anything he wants, but this is also true for the other two guys of the trio. Bernad Hernadez reminded me of Patrick ‘O’ Hearn in old Zappa’s live recordings, and Dusan’s elegant use of volume pedal together with his great ability to create musical landscapes based on beautifully structured chord progressions, create “the three colors” in the album.
I regard this album as an early but honest attempt by Reija to express his own world. Is that easy for a listener to grasp it? Sometimes yes, other times no, but this is totally subjective. So it is unfair even to attempt to rate an album like this one so I give it to you to form your own opinion. After all, this is a matter of taste. But I assure you that if these guys ever perform at my town I would not miss the opportunity to enjoy them live!