Reviews

ProgRock Records, March 8th , 2012 The second release from Chris Fournier and Tobe London is another one of those albums that fit ProgRock Records perfectly. Other than that it’s quite hard to describe due to its experimental nature. Sure the base of The Antikythera Method is progressive rock of the 70’s, but there is so much more to this band. There are clear influences of jazz, pop, Middle Eastern music, metal, synth avant-garde and just about anything in-between. Still none of these influences dominate the sound or the direction of the band, but they add a exciting twists and feel to the music. Instrumentation from the two gentlemen is simple astonishing. Not only do they play all the instruments extremely well, but the arrangements are simply breath-taking. At the same time the escapades of instrumentation are never tiring, but rather fun and unpredictable. So much experimenting and so much of a sonic undertaking, but the band still manages to keep the focus and technical aspects of the music never dominate, but rather ad spice and contribute to the overall gist of the song. Most of the songs are instrumental and extremely vibrant and interesting. Some of the songs fdo eature guest vocalist Laurie Larson whose vocals are not the most typical vocals you’d imagine for this band. However her vocals are very good and work perfectly with the music, adding it yet another (odd) layer.
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Where things really click, whir, churn and tick-tock into place are through the tracks where the percussive process of this album most closely achieves its initial motivation. "Shadow Song" pops, with immaculately regular drum snaps, ghost beats, and constant snare-rolling combining with an ever shifting keyboard motif to crackling effect. "Pyrrhic Victory takes things a stage further, with a clicking hi-hat, opening, closing and shuffling alongside a regimented electric piano motif and atmospheric surge of keys, while "Save Me" adds bell pings and an ever greater amount of snare cracks, cymbal smacks and hi-hat thwacks to mix. The resultant percussive wall does a wonderful job of conjuring up the creaking, pioneering mechanism that inspired this music, but more importantly the melodies and motifs are strong enough to raise the tracks above mere conceptual concoctions centred round a cacophony of crashes. Aiding and abetting the phenomenal percussive power of London and musical meanderings of Fourneir are the wonderful vocals of Laurie Larson, whose clear, crisp, yet beguiling tones add hugely to the atmospheric music, with her voice often used as an instrument complimenting their surrounds, while being strong and confident enough to lead from the front when the need arises.
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The Roger Dean-styled cover artwork seems to telegraph what sort of musical trip to expect here, and the atmospheric acoustic guitar that opens the disc furthers that vibe. But when female lead vocals kick in, it’s clear that the album holds some surprises. A finely textured record, the glue that holds it all together is provided by non-singing songwriters Chris Fournier and Tobe London. The pair handle most of the instrumentation, and an assortment of guest artists round out the collection. The ambience is a pleasantly familiar prog rock style, musically similar to late Peter Gabriel-era Genesis in places. Recommended.
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Space rock of the smooth, melodic variety is the name of the game on Centric Jones’ "The Antikythera Method", a production with occasional nods in the direction of Ozric Tentacles and later day Beggar's Opera as the most distinct traits, sporting quite a few inserts with more of a progressive electronic character to boot. If that description sounds tantalizing, there's a good chance that this is a band and a CD that will be of interest to you.
progressor.net/review/centric_jones_2012.html

Like Britain’s Big Big Train, Centric Jones has taken the classic prog style and updated it with sharp, pristine digital production, taking elements of the old—for example, their orchestral synth washes feel like a straight homage to early Moody Blues—and making them into something that feels fresh and new. These guys might not be making music on the level of a BBT yet, but there’s a lot to like on The Antikythera Method, numerous moments and passages that deliver genuine impact. They’re still on their way, but they seem to know where they’re headed… it should be an interesting journey.
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If you decide to listen to the second album of Centric Jones you'll discover something very special, something you don't hear every day and something you can't immediately describe. In a way this is just what Chris Fournier (bass, guitars, keyboards, electronic percussion) and Tobe London (drums, acoustic and electronic percussion, keyboards) wanted to achieve with their music. These musicians met in 2007 and they discovered to share the same musical goal. They both wanted to create songs to break through musical boundaries without feeling an emotional connection with their audience.
www.backgroundmagazine.nl/CDReviews/CentricJonesTheAntikytheraMethod.html

Fonya's albums were focused on long and solid instrumental musical parts as well. The Antikythera Method mainly contains strong instrumental parts with leading roles for the keyboards and the electric guitars. Sometimes you just glide away on those beautiful musical parts that appeared to be improvised in the recording studios. However, the strong drum parts make sure that the songs contain enough drive and groove. The participation of the additional female singer Laurie Larson brings the music down to earth from time to time. It provides the songs with a kind of structure. It's not easy to compare this kind of music to other acts in the genre, but I guess that bands as Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Hawkwind, Yes and Porcupine Tree might be a good starting point.
www.backgroundmagazine.nl/CDReviews/CentricJonesTheAntikytheraMethod.html

I think it’s pretty amazing that there are still new musical sounds and styles being incorporated into the progressive rock genre. If you happen to think that’s not the case, I invite you to listen to the new release from Centric Jones entitled The Antikythera Method. Long-time prog fans will likely remember the CD’s released under the band name Fonya created by Chris Fournier.Centric Jones is the continuation of his musical quest working with musical partner Tobe London and this is their second release. The eclectic music is created by Fournier (guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion), London (drums, percussion, keyboards) and Laurie Larson (vocals). It’s a warm and engaging set of tunes that won me over immediately.
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The Antikythera Method finds Fournier and London in familiar territory. The compositions are largely layers of synthesizers, sampling, and programming buoyed by drums. Accents include some acoustic guitar and airy female vocals from Laurie Larson, which are as spacey as the music. You get some guitar chops, and even lead guitar work. But it's mostly overwhelmed by the former, and you might even miss it completely if not listening attentively. It's notable on three of the best cuts here: the title track, All For One, and Boomer. Largely then The Antikythera Method is atmospheric old school melodic prog. If you like the latest Frames or A Liquid Landscape, you might enjoy this. It's definitely more interesting than the latter's latest effort. I'm sure it would be perfect for playing in a New Age bookstore or for atmosphere the grass eaters at a vegan convention. Otherwise, recommended.
www.dangerdog.com/2012-music-reviews/centric-jones-the-antikythera-method.php

What makes this music so different, and at the same time fun to listen to, is the talent of these guys. The drums, guitars and keyboards all combine to make the listener pay attention to the next change that’s impossible to anticipate but likely to come. Most songs are instrumentals and the few that do feature vocals are of a female voice in more of an orchestral off-the-microphone choir sound. It is a very cool record with many sounds mixing and matching (or not), and the result is indeed something of a sonic adventure. The songs aren’t very long either which is something manyprog rock bands suffer from, and even if you think these songs were not written but improvised mid-jam session, the liner notes indicate otherwise. There are 10 songs, to me none sound the same because of all the twists and turns and layers they all take on. The drumming sounds like a machine, but even a machine could never hit as hard and fast as these cats. The guitar sounds are the same as that of a virtuoso, and the keyboards, moogs and synthesizers take on some never before heard music. The liner notes were a bit hard to read, so as a sweet surprise, the second to last song is a faithful and updated version of the early Yes song “Then”, ripe for remake but clearly here in the right hands. Even the album cover art is cool, reminiscent of Roger Dean but updated as well. Even if you don’t like all of the songs here, you cannot deny the creativity.
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It’s hard for me as a wannabe graphic designer not to judge a book or, in this case, a release by its cover. I appreciate great artwork and futuristic sci-fi landscape that adorns The Antikythera Method by Centric Jones is simply superb. The question for me was… does the music live up to this illustration? Simple answer is… yes, it does. The duo of Chris Fournier and Tobe London with the assistance of Laurie Larson on vocals have created a wonderfully progressive and upbeat rock album filled with air guitar-tastic solos; deep, infectious melodies; and some of the finest synth sounds I’ve heard in a good while.
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