I have to be honest from the start with this review when I say I found it hard going. The music of Waterclime is very unusual and, as a result, I had to think long and hard about which way I was going to approach this write up. I’ve decided the best approach is to directly put down my thoughts about each track in as open and honest a way as I can. I am aware that some of the descriptions may seem vague but anyone interested in the genre of prog’ rock hopefully has a vivid enough imagination to take a stab at what I am trying to get across.

The album is the brainchild of the enigmatically named Mr. V main man for Vintersorg. ”Imaginative” is the second album to come out under the “Waterclime” name following “The Astral Factor” (2006). Once again the basis lies in symphonic and progressive rock spiced up with some jazzy crescendos and folk atmospheres. Mr V has this to say about “Imaginative”, “My aim was to continue to explore progressive and symphonic rock through Nordic atmosphere. Another goal was to challenge myself to write better and more adventurous songs with both melody and depth. On the first CD the songs were kind of in the same vein all along the album, with this one I have taken a more diverse and dramatic approach”. Well diverse and dramatic all have their part to play on this release and so without further ado here are my thoughts about the music:

The album opens with” Vision Or Void” a sprightly, up-tempo number with a great positive feel. It feels like early era Yes jamming with Gentle Giant with a bit of The Who thrown in for good measure. I know that sounds like an unusual mixture but that’s what my ears hear on this track.

Next up is “Flashes” which had me thinking of Kaipa hanging out with Jethro Tull. Rhythmically it’s a strange animal and the only way I can describe it is as really wide jazz swing taking giant steps. That all sounds a bit crazy but it shows that the music was making me think outside the box.

“Angel And The Fireball” was a song that perplexed me somewhat as there is a strong melody running throughout the song but it just seemed to always want to run away from me as the listener. As fast as it came into sight it was gone and as a result I didn’t really find myself warming to this track.

“Moonstream Portrait” feels very much like a musical experiment that at times really gelled and at others fragmented. It was like various instruments fighting for space.

“Starshine Theater” clicked straightaway which I put down to its slightly less cluttered arrangement and vocal harmonies that sounded right to the ear from the word go. I found myself thinking that fans of early Rush would possibly enjoy this track It gets a bit “out there” towards the end but remains just the right side of accessible.

“A Journey To The Center Of The Soul” is an up-tempo song with heavy folk undertones. It’s a lively and darkly jolly hurdy gurdy that dances along with a life of its own.

“Sunset Morning” is quirky, gently trippy and at times mildly psychedelic. Assuming that time must have moved forward in Tolkiens Middle Earth like it has here on our earth I found myself imagining that this might be the kind of music that Hobbits started listening to at the turn of the Millennium.

“Body Migrated” left me a little bit overwhelmed with its slightly frantic arrangement. It moves along briskly but even with all its melodies flying around I couldn’t quiet fall for the song.

“Twilight” is the closing track on the album and like “Body Migrating” sometimes the music was so busy that it all became just a bit too much like a prog’ rock train wreck.

“Imaginative” is an album born from a composer with a very individual approach to his songwriting. The music has no formula but instead makes its own musical rules and breaks many pre conceived ones. At times the arrangements did seem a little bit too frantic and had me thinking that the composer had consumed a crate of Red Bull before each recording session as there was so much musical “stuff” flying around. There are many moments on Imaginative where just exerting a little restraint, especially on the drumming, would let the melodies and themes shine through. There also feels like there is a tendency to want to just keep adding extra notes and harmonies and sometimes, like in cooking, too many ingredients eventually over power the flavour and that’s what I feel is happening on this album.

I love my prog’ rock and this album certainly captures a nice retro feel, in particular in the production and instruments used but on this occasion the music is lost by the overpowering “kitchen sink” approach. Less would have meant more. Overall it’s a very individual achievement but one that I have found won’t unlock its secrets to this reviewer, even after many, many listens. As a result I have to say approach with caution.

Let us know your views on Imaginative 

Track Listing

Vision or Void
Flashes
The Angel and the Fireball
Moonstream Portrait
Starshine Theater
A Journey to the Center of the Soul
Sunset Morning
Body Migrated
Twilight