http://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2015/04/album-review-karnataka-secrets-of-angels/
Album review: KARNATAKA – Secrets Of Angels
Immrama [Release date 30.03.15]
To
be blunt, the first impressions of Secrets Of Angels – played live at
Bury Met in February – weren’t great. The band blamed the venue and the
lack of an adequate sound check, but as they’d recorded the 2013 New
Light in concert DVD there, the excuses sounded, frankly, questionable.
And if I’m honest, none of the band looked like they were having a good
time.
And
while ‘first night’ gremlins/nerves might be understandable, the ‘real
thing’ suffers a similar lack of ‘presence’, or identity. Perhaps no
surprise, perhaps because since day 1, Karnataka has been a constant
revolving door of players and only guitarist Enrico Pinna remains from
the band that recorded the excellent The Gathering Light (2010), along
with mainstay Ian Jones.
Five
years is a long time in the evolution of Karnataka and they’ve seen
almost as many personnel changes in the interim. You wonder what
attracted Hayley Griffiths – previously a lead singer with Michael
Flatley’s Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance productions – to join such a
fragile eco-system.
Certainly
no blame can be laid at her door. Her ‘West End’ training was evident
in live performance where she was the only one who attempted to make
‘contact’ with the audience. Jones and keyboardist Cagri Tozluoglu
engaged in a navel gazing competition (Tozluoglu won hands down) and
guitarist Pinna’s only eye contact was with drummer Jimmy Pallagrosi
(with whom he seemed to be having a private joke). All-round, it was
frankly uncomfortable.
Secret
Angels is, however, a polished set that sees Karnataka stray into the
more melodic end of the Nightwish symphonic rock spectrum featuring
guest musicians Troy Donockley (Uilleann pipes and low whistles), Irish
harpist Seána Davey, Rachel van der Tang (cello) and Clive Howard
(viola) from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Quite
why seemingly every band in the melodic prog ‘space’ feels the need to
employ the services of Donockley is a mystery. An accomplished player,
yes, but he adds nothing to the diversity of the genre and his pervading
presence makes it virtually impossible at times to distinguish where
Secrets Of Angels ends and Nightwish begins.
And
that identity crisis extends in other directions – the excellent
opening ‘Road To Cairo’ bears a striking resemblance – vocally and
otherwise – to Christina Booth and Magenta. And therein lies the rub,
Secrets Of Angels is a perfectly good album – well played and executed.
But there’s no ‘killer’ material with – much like the live performance –
one number running almost indistinguishably into the next.
At
times, it’s like the band are firing on three cylinders and you just
want them to ‘kick on’ and rock out. But it doesn’t happen. Big
arrangements are the order of the day. Perhaps tellingly, the highlight
is ‘Feels Like Home’ a song that sounds custom made for a Lloyd Webber
production. Griffiths shines on the track and one wonders whether the
marriage of her polished musical theatre background to a progressive
rock band will be an enduring one. ****
Review by Pete Whalley
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO:
 | Secrets of Angels CD - £9.99 |
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