“…Dark timbres, dense harmonic aggregations, and exotic melodies abound … while the emphasis here is clearly on ensemble playing, Rea’s guitar work continually imbues the proceedings with splashes of color from his global grab bag of stylistic goodies—including liberal dashes of oriental intrigue.”—Barry Cleveland, Guitar Player

If you live in that lonely world where contemporary Chinese music, free improvisation jazz, Univers Zero, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Ornette Coleman matter more than the latest dumbo from The X Factor then the news is good: this debut album from Seattle guitarist Dennis Rea’s chamber prog quintet is probably the answer to your prayers. The ensemble—you feel that calling them ‘the band’ is a bit beneath them—comprises of guitar, bass, drums, cello and violin, a struggle of equals intent on forging new music that occasionally sounds like rock or jazz but really isn’t. ... It sounds at times like you might imagine the Mahavishnu Orchestra would if they had formed in Kazakhstan or some other far-off land of which we know little. At others they sound like a 1920s Klingon cabaret band. But on the whole you’d never be able to slot them into any neat categories; you can only respond with the sort of perplexed awe you feel when confronted for the first time by something that's actually original.”—Tommy Udo, Classic Rock: Prog magazine (UK)

“Moraine's Manifest Density draws on Progressive Rock's past, but synthesizes something totally fresh and new at the same time. ... Although this band can improvise on a scale comparable to the best fusion bands, their love of progressive rock composition often makes them more similar to jazzy prog-rock bands such as Focus or Quiet Sun. ...despite all the obvious tributes to their favorites of the past, Moraine never sounds cheaply derivative or short on original musical ideas. ... If you are looking for a modern and original extension of bands like King Crimson, Henry Cow and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Moraine has it.”—Prog Archives

“…a masterfully twisted quintet crushing five pounds of prog and symph-metal into a two-pound neoclassicalist bag. … There's not an ounce of ego or gloryhogging anywhere, just the sheer exuberance of playing in ensemble. … a hurtling juggernaut of grace and insanity that re-orients the listener's perceptics and frays his nerves while revving up the temporal lobes and ectoplasm … Any track here is a sure-fire attention getter.”—Mark S. Tucker, Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange (USA)

Da Rulz:

All ages show

BYOB – coolers welcome

Small chairs (no yard yachts, please) welcome

Cover: $15

 

Driving Directions:

Take I-95 to exit 50A - Caton Ave., South. If you are coming from the south BEWARE - there is no merge lane at the end of the exit ramp to get onto Caton Ave., so BE CAREFUL!! Take Caton Ave to the third traffic signal and turn left onto Washington Blvd. Take Washington Blvd. about 1/4 mile to the large "U-Haul" sign on your right. Turn just before the sign onto Inverness Ave. Take Inverness to its end and turn left onto Whittington Ave. Take Whittington to its end and turn right, into our lot. Enter through door "B" in the building on your right as you enter the lot.

Thursday, May 19th (from Sweden): Agents of Mercy w/ guests District 97 (Chicago)

Friday, June 24th (from Indonesia): Simak Dialog <<<< just announced!

Saturday, August 27th (from France): Jack Dupon w/ guests Le Singe Blanche

Thursday, September 1st (from Belgium): Quantum Fantay