DARWIN // DISTORTED MIRROR // ALBUM REVIEW

DarWin are a supergroup featuring the talents of Simon Phillips (drums), Matt Bissonette (lead vocals), Mohini Dey (bass), Greg Howe (guitars), Derek Sherinian (keyboards), and many more superstar players! Before you even listen, you know it is going to be good.

Starting with the instrumental ‘Rising Distortion’ and followed by the title track, it is full of intricacies, power, and so many twists and turns, making Distorted Mirror a veritable musical epic of enormous magnitude.

The mirror is indeed distorted, like stepping into a hall of mirrors at a fairground; everywhere you look, you see something different. This is their fifth album, and when they began, there was no plan other than for the project to keep evolving. ‘33^rd Century Man’ displays this brilliance with its light, funky vibe and melodies, as the vocals gently soar, Greg Howe delivering a solo that sparkles over the rhythmic patterns and Derek Sherinian’s hypnotic keys.

Possibly the album’s highlight is ‘Loophole’, which looks back at ancient conflicts and how they persist, becoming issues in the modern world we inhabit today, history repeating itself. It creates an ominous day of reckoning; the acoustic patterns are repeated to highlight this.

‘Glow’ comes just before the above; it sweeps over you delicately, with an interplay that astonishes and mesmerises. ‘Winter Fayre’ concludes an album that needs to be listened to in its entirety, beginning with keys that take you on a journey where Howe’s playing is creative and joyous; the jam fest at the end provides fun and tells fans there is so much more to come.

Lock the doors, turn down the lights and drift away on a seismic and hypnotic adventure that will prove both epic and evocative. The many colours of all involved make Distorted Mirror a must for all. It piques your curiosity, compelling you to explore and take notice. Whatever your musical philosophies, you will be confounded by the sounds that this supergroup makes.

Having formed a decade ago my guess is you will need to discover all that has gone before. Understanding the past helps us comprehend the present, and this is exemplified by ‘Loophole’, an album that does so emphatically and eloquently. The co-production between DarWin and Simon Phillips is superb.

Review: Paul Mace