Home

Released
1998

Label
Self Released

Reviewed by
Kim Alexander

Contact
Where Echoes End
20 Becket Ave
East Bentleigh
VIC 3165, Australia

Visit
Where Echoes End


Last Edit/Update
07 March, 1999

Where Echoes End

By The Pricking Of My Thumb

         
Track Listing

Part I.
To the Enlightened Man
The Right Brain Experience
1. Disengage...Disengage....Disengage.
Part II.
Endless Forms Most Beautiful
Engine of Evolution
1. Ripples on a Stagnant Pond.
2. Life as Animation.
Part III.
The Face in the Mirror
Skin Encapsulated Ego
1. Inventor of the Invisible World.
2. Terra Incognita.
3. I Tell the Truth, Even When I Lie.
4. Opinions Divided.
5. A Cast of Thousands.
6. Only in War.
7. Our Lowest Ebb.
I - Denial.
II - Animosity.
8. Our Lowest Ebb.
III - Negotiated Control.
IV - Depression.
9. Syndication.
I - Prologue.
10. Syndication.
II - Their Anguish, our Entertainment.
Part IV.
And Oh How We Long To Escape
Blurred Boundaries
1. Trust Me
2. I'm Here But I'm Not All There.
3. A Stranger To Reason.
4. The Human Condition.
5. Ad Infinitum.
Part V.
Wild Imaginings
Infinite Shades of Gray
1. Reengage....Reengage....Reengage.

    By The Pricking Of My Thumb is unlike any release I have ever heard.   It fits not into any genre, but it does encapsulate many.  It is a most serious work of art by Eddie Katz and Paul Read in terms of lyrical thought and content, graphical artwork, music composition and sequencing of the storyline as a whole.  There is an air to this release of a "Thesis" like pre-production preparation in that there is a storyline set within the tracks that exemplify the opening statement on the cover:

"Irrational Rationalism"
Encrypted in these songs is the nucleus of our cultural demise.  These passages represent the exposition of societal evolution - an unnatural fissure in western psyche and a resultant cultural pathos.
From the wreckage of our squandered yesteryears comes fear and greed - our ever present companions, shadowing our every move.  long ago we became the dismantled beings we are today.

    The music and lyrics are not the gloom and doom one might think from reading the above statement, but more of dark stirring beauty, reflective unrest and gentle pondering -- it is an awareness about the human condition, our nature, and a brief view back into our history which has brought us to where we are today as a species. By The Pricking Of My Thumb is a chilling event to experience. The music in superb and ranges from spacious (orchestral) symphonic interludes to minimal drum and bass to techno-edge synth and exotic / American Native pieces.  It is "the" most diverse CD I have heard to date relevant to sounds and creativity and I believe that my written words really cannot do this release the justice it deserves.  You need to hear it to really get the full impact of how much time and effort went into this CD. It is fabulously thought provoking and intense, not something you want to play at a party or necessarly easy listening music in the background.  It requires your attention, demands it in fact, due to all of the annectdotal stories and samples within it. By The Pricking Of My Thumb is incredible and I look forward to hearing all works Where Echoes End may release in the future, it's that good. Thanks for sending me this CD.  It certainly opened my eyes, ears and mind.
   To read more indepth reviews about what others have written about this release, and to hear some of their music, visit the Where Echoes End web site. You won't regret purchasing this release and you will not tire from hearing it often.

© Last Sigh