Jazz meets psychedelia. Alternative meets progressive rock. That’s the billing of this album from Italy’s Klidas, who were formed in 2014. Upon reading that this album “represents a path of transcendence”, I set off on the journey.
With a calming post-rock ring and a haunting saxophone sound peering through, I was sucked in. “Shores” for me was a musical representation of a vision where one stands on the sand dune and looks reflectively across a sandy horizon towards the sea, with waves calmly lapping against the shore. It’s patient and languid. Saxophony always indicates sadness, I find, and so it does here. In post-rock style, the mood intensifies but not in any extreme way so the disturbance is minor. We remain calm and reflective. The languid nature of a hazy day is again represented wispily on “Shine”, with the saxophone showing up again, but this time the pattern is more jazz-like, irregular and technical, a little like Canvas Solaris. The guitar pattern develops into an intriguing avant-garde style with more than a flavour of jazz. It’s not easy to conjure up an image from it, which prompts further listening. The end of “Shine” explodes unexpectedly into hard rock, leaving my unformed interpretation still more open.
If “Shores” was a dreamy thing, now “Not to Dissect” challenges us with its avant-garde jazz front. It’s kind of wild but also captivating in its urgent and unconventional progression. I felt close to the “something” that it conveyed. Klidas are evidently not about standing still because the mood changes again, as the slower “Arrival” invites us into a world of dreams, conveyed by delicate guitar patterns and the omnipresent saxophone. Hauntingly the vocalist pronounces that “it’s entering me, like a sun cracks the hill”. There’s no time to dwell on what “it” might be because we enter another world of pattering, saxophone-laden reflection, this time with commentary in Japanese. I guess we arrived in line with the song title because the urgency steps up and “Circular” fills the air. Round and round we go again as we enjoy a lush, multi-coloured journey laden with sensitivity and rich instrumental patterns and suggestions, culminating in a darker edge and finally a steaming heavy rock end. Klidas tend to use these heavy rock elements as passing storms in the calmer elements, doing so again on the final piece “The Trees Are in Misery”. This last piece has more menace than its predecessors, and breaks out explosively beyond its previous boundaries. Overall, I shall remember this album more for its calmer moods than its dark side, but the final build-up of “The Trees Are in Misery” makes for a powerful end, reflecting perhaps the statement on the sleeve notes: “The peace of merging with what underlies the origin of the world contrasts with an experience dominated by trauma and torment”.
“No Harmony” is indeed a journey. Its magic lies in its intricacies. Klidas use their artistry to take themselves and invite us the listeners to another place. I haven’t fully computed or dissected what I heard – maybe the advice is in the track title “Not to Dissect” – but this reflects the nature of the album and actually it really doesn’t matter. Both quiet and forceful, it conjures up many moods and images. Even though it moves in mysterious musical ways, “No Harmony” is a fluid and thought-provoking album which invaded my consciousness and brought intrigue with its patterns.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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