'A Model Life' is the latest long player from THE SONE INSTITUTE, a vehicle for Roman Bezdyk's electronic musings. Certainly on this album there is a lot going on, the mood switches from ambient, to almost industrial in the space of a single track.
The opening number, the splendidly titled 'Witchcraft and Pornography' actually managed to conjure up images of neither in my brain as it played out. This track has more in common with prog and psychedelic rock in places with a fuzztone guitar, bass, drums, synths, which merge together in a cyclical melody which is quite uplifting in places.
'M' Ling' carries on the late 1960s, early 1970s vibe, once again the guitars and bass are set within the early heavy rock parameters, but suddenly you notice the banjo, which becomes clearer, and with this the track takes on a whole new life. In fact there are several surprises on this album. 'Frozen Leaves –Falling From Trees' starts off with the trumpet, almost as a jazz intro, before the electronics kick in.
Roman Bezdyk's point of view can come across at times as somewhat pessimistic, or oblique, for example on 'The World is a Confusion', a Numanesque number with Roman intoning: - “The world is a confusion, a spiral drawn in the sand/ Under the still stars the voice was calling, I turned...” There seem to be no clear answers here, only questions, which adds to the mystique.
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The title track 'A Model Life' is five and a half minutes of pure pleasure, an ambient track that is really relaxing with acoustic guitars and muted synths that draw you in that you almost don't notice the appearance of drums after two and a half minutes.
The front cover of the album pictures a giant standing in a car park. Upon the giant's shoulder is sat a normal man. Albert Einstein once said “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.” With this album, Roman Bezdyk has stretched his imagination and his vision to produce a work that will appeal to a wide variety of electronic music fans, and that is to be applauded.
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