Azoora - Be Here

Hear The Track Here

Have to admit that the inclusion in the review list this month of Azoora has been much looked forward too. Certainly the most significant find this year for me, although I first came across them when I reviewed Life Of Fantastic back in September 2005, but there have been lots of changes since. Marzipan Demo (March 2007) showed a whole new, and extremely professional side to this band and was raved about so copiously by this reviewer I spent days cleaning up the mess. A class track indeed. They followed that up with Desert Storms Demo (May 2007) yet another musical and technical marvel; a great song encased in a splendid production and arrangement.

How could they possibly top two Must Haves?

Thank fekk it ain't about that eh? Be Here is a TOTALLY different beast and the first time I tried to ride it, the ground and I had intimate congress within the first few seconds. However, I was ever the intrepid hero (Ed: Mmmmmm) and refused to be cowed by this musical version of a curveball from an artist I had very high hopes for. First of all, the production on this is soooo full it's bursting at the seams, almost as if you couldn't cram any more in there, and I think that is leading to a blurring between the different instruments. Mind you, to my ears this sounds a very middle based mix and could well be straight off the board - as it were.

What makes it hard to grasp is it's arrangement, which takes some getting used to and now - with hindsight - I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's because the whole latter part of the track in an endless build, sounds odd but works amazingly well, or whether this is a track that's going to take some time to sink in. Whatever it is, I'm on my umpteenth listen and I'm still puzzling over it. However, I think I'm even firmer of the opinion that this is an 'off the board' mix and that a final version will sound sharper and cleaner. Of course, I could be totally wrong about and this is what Azoora actually aimed for, if so it certainly is different. I have no doubt I'm going to ages making me mind up about this one, because I do like lots of things about it...

Very interesting arrangement, ain't sure about the mix. Recommended for different.