Collage - Over And Out LP BLUE POLISH RELEASE

$

74

New LP , Polish Release  

Over a quarter of a century since the release of their last album, Warsaw-based Collage is back with a long-awaited new album, titled 'Over And Out'.

The history of this album dates back to 2013, when, after a long break in business, the musicians of Collage's most famous line-up decided to return to active activity. Initially exclusively touristic, especially as the 20th anniversary of the album 'Moonshine' was approaching, which ensured the group the status of one of the most important progressive rock bands not only in Poland, but also gained a wide audience around the world. However, in addition to the concert hunger, creative hunger also came eventually. This coincided with changes in line-up. Already before returning to the stage, the paths of Collage musicians and vocalist Robert Amirian diverged, who was replaced by Karol Wróblewski. In 2016, one of the group's founders, Mirek Gil, decided to part. His place was taken by Michał Kirmuć. And it was in this line-up that the group began work on the songs that were to be featured on Collage's first album in the new millennium. However, it soon became clear that another challenge appeared for the team. Faced with Charles's departure, the group had to find another frontman. The choice fell on the well-known Quidam band, Bartek Kossowicz. From that moment on, a new chapter in Collage history began, resulting in the album 'Over And Out'.

There are only five tracks on the album, but while the shortest of them ("One Empty Hand") is less than five minutes, the title track is a more than twenty minutes audio feast for the most discerning fans of Collage and progressive rock in general. Musically, despite many years of business hiatus and personnel changes, we managed to retain the character known from albums such as "Fairy Tales", "Safe" or the aforementioned "Moonshine" album. Thus, the powerful, multi-layered sounds of Krzysztof Palczewski's keyboard instruments dominate, supported by the guitar parts of Michał Kirmuc, who on the one hand retained the sound character of his predecessor and on the other introduced such new elements as guitar synthesizers. As usual, a great asset is the original and expansive play of drummer Wojtek Szadkowski, bravely supported in the rhythm section by bassist Piotr Mintay Witkowski. Bartosz Kossowicz, on the other hand, showed that not only does he have the energy of his predecessors, but also the timbre of his voice brought more warmth and melancholy in places.

While from the musical side 'Over And Out' is a band work, Szadkowski was solely responsible for the lyrics of the album. The sadness and doubtful depressive mood of the lyrics also stems from the experiences of the musicians themselves, for whom working on the album coincided with extremely difficult moments in private life. However, there is always hope in the end.

The album cover, as was the case with the albums "Moonshine" and "Safe", was decorated with a painting by Zdzisław Beksiński, which perfectly harmonizes not only with the lyrics, but also with the music contained on the album. Complementing the whole, there is also the presence of a special guest on the album, and that is none other than Steve Rothery, the casual Marillion guitarist who, after previous stage experiences with Collage, decorated 'Man On The Middle' with over a five-minute solo! And with the album's promotion track "What About The Pain", which - in shortened version - appears online with the announcement of the album's release date, the band has supported the children's choir. 

Tracklist:

1. Over And Out (21:50)
2. What About The Pain (A Family Album) (8:36)
3. One Empty Hand (5:03)
4. A Moment A Feeling (13:22)
5. Man In The Middle (feat. Steve Rothery) (9:10)