CALLIGRAM “Position | Momentum”
By Lord Randall
“Sul Dolore” begins CALLIGRAM’s second, a whirlwind of blasts and frigid strings swirling about, but, for some inexplicable reason, what should already have my ears cryogenically frozen just falls flat on its way to “Frantumi In Itinere”. More of the same here, despite an interesting slow down at the mid-section, until you realize that we never return to the original theme, and resulting in what feels like two completely different songs slammed together in a furious attempt to create one.
“Eschilo” begins pensive, acoustic fingerings leading into a section that far, far too quickly gets annihilated by Default Blast, knocking the wind out of both like a gut punch. After the truly intriguing keyboard soundscape of “Per Jamie”, we’re back in Blastville once again, a perplexed citizenry, half-wondering what the city leaders are up to with “Ostranenie”, but not so much as to truly care. Sure, there’s another keyboard/guitar passage, but by now these are seeming tossed in.
Ending with the complete jumble that is “Seminario Dieci”, I believe I’ve found what somewhat irritates me about CALLIGRAM as a whole. The quintet is proficient at what they do. Very much so, in fact. But in the complete glut of what’s already out there, “Position | Momentum” just doesn’t stand far enough out from the crowd to attract notice. Nonplussed.