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That meme will never die

It's been a long time since the last time we had old vs. new debate here on Psynews

Well maybe they have fun making it that way (not talking about mixing but the general tones/sounds)

1. Intro 2. The Creature 3. Return of the Bad Dreamer 4. Outer Limits (Limitless Mix) 5. Vektogram (Remix) 6. Twisted Reality 7. Hallucinatory Acid 8. Unreal 9. Ouija Morphic Resonance's former album, City of Moons (referred to as CoM here) was a rejuvenating landmark in post 21st century dark Goa Trance. Nitpicks aside, CoM is considered by many to be one of the best dark Goa releases in quite some time. As with Tandu's Multimoods and later Cybernetika's Scythe of Orion, Morphic Resonance is known for incorporating strong atmosphere with magnetic sound/melody [synth] work, buildups, climaxes, twists and turns, and more. A full review ensues. 1. Intro is very dark and ominous. This atmospheric, mid-tempo opening resonates a sense of danger. The dramatic tone stands out. Intro is so dark that it may give the impression that the album is darker than it is. Not that the album's not dark, it's also fun and exciting! Intro is only 3-4 minutes. It's interesting, different from what we're used to hearing, and never over-stays its welcome. This is a unique and moody little piece that curiously builds up to -- 2. The Creature is more of my kind of dark Goa. It's atmospheric and thrilling. The synths are exciting and the transitions often lead to segments as good, if not better than the ones before it. Kudos on the accents, impact effects, ambience, alterations in tempo, and the overall development and direction of the song. It's very dynamic, e.g., 4:00, switching between ideas and momentum to keep us captivated. I was never bored for a second. If I were to nitpick, I'd say the synth at 5:00 reminds me of a lead in CoM's Procyon. It works well here. It simply felt less fresh to me. The last act is fantastic via 7:27 and when the energy picks up at 7:56, so catchy, exciting, and fun! Something great happens when the track could have otherwise ended at 8:35. The Creature is an adrenalized, dynamic, and darkly fun little gem. It's as if the essence of [the holiday] of Halloween via darker than we celebrate and Alien(s) [the film sequel] morphed into a Goa song, thanks to cinematic/impact effects, chilling atmosphere, and more. The synth work is so edgy, driving, and catchy. The Creature is more refined than the opening track on CoM, Psychedelic Hell. What a way to start off the album! I go back and forth between A- and A but overall what an opening. A 3. Return of the Bad Dreamer is where the album dips for me, despite some great segments and an amazing finale. The first several minutes are strong, featuring bouncy textures reminiscent of Hux Flux's album, Cryptic Crunch. The music sounds too muddled for me though-- from 3:45 to 3:58. It's soon corrected with a healthy lead in the forth minute. Lacking are as many tempo breaks and transitions (bells and whistles basically) as The Creature had. The former track was more crisp, eventful, dynamic, and varied. It had more of a whiz-bang sound, whereas this involves less jump cuts, so to speak. Things get a over-stuffed (muddled) again in the fifth minute, and this continues on and off for some time. Fortunately the last third, e.g., seventh minute forward is superb and includes an incredible climax. The song could have started in the seventh minute and improved from there considering the middle act was pretty repetitive and lackluster. The Creature I found to be so much more enjoyable and memorable, despite some great moments here. B 4. Outer Limets (Limetless Remix) is the last song to continue the dip unfortunately and thankfully. The first two minutes start good, psychedelic, catchy, promising (great work at 1:20)-- that is until a synth leaves at 2:25. It's here where the song grows REPETITIVE, MEANDERS, and GROWS LESS ENGAGING until 4:30 pulls us back into the imaginative, visionary, and potentially excellent world. And that sums up my issue with this song (the good and bad, filler and non-filler all thrown together). Just TRIM THE FAT. Make an 8 minute song. Who cares? We care! You should care. But I digress. Let's continue... The song improves with intrigue in the second act, again from 5:35 to 6:16. The tone from the opening minute re-appars at 6:02 and sounds great, but eventually wears out, grows redundant, e.g., sixth and seventh minute that sound so similar and repetitive. The last two minutes improve musically and engage me after losing me for several minutes. Man, I kept hoping we'd break out of old molds and evolve, but the song kept getting caught up in the mud as in various similar sounding segments. I don't feel like this song is up to MR's standards, or what we've come to expect. Then again, the artist included Mindwarp on the previous album so who knows. This could have been an amazing track, but its unambitious, repetitive, and MIXED (parts good and great, parts not so much) robs it of its potential. B- 5. Vektogram (Remix) sounds more distinct than the previous track. Talk about a metallic, futuristic sounding track. I love the two-minute mark where the tempo changes up. That's dynamic, unpredictable, and gripping, excellent. Soon after however, I begin to notice a similar sounding arrangement-- not desirable. The 3:45 transition adds to the dynamic feel thankfully. Development in the middle act elevated the whole, e.g., 5:45 is terrific, bending, exercising our brain, mind. It's great. Nothing sounds over-stuffed or too busy. The sixth minute takes us further, higher. That said, there are a few brief, fairly repetitive segmented arrangements that could have been replaced for stronger work. IMO this is the second best track on this album since The Creature which I find even more fun personally. Overall, this is a great track-- inventive, articulately composed, and one of the best GOA songs I've heard all year (along with The Creature) so far going off in going through the album in this review. A- 6. Twisted Reality reminds me of MFG's Project Genesis in a WONDERFUL way from the opening minute. I love that album! So I was very curious to see where the artist would take this. The accent/synth in the first minute is terrific. The door-hinging (whatever that is) is so catchy. The first act is super. A futuristic dark nighttime number growing increasingly psychedelic and complex. We transition in the third minute, however losing some of that MFG inspiration and while still great, the song feels a little less futuristic edgy a la MFG which I miss. Also, the climax in the middle (without the MFG emphasis) felt slightly lengthier or enjoyable. Same thing in the seventh minute mark. A newer synth arrives later, and again, the work via 8:35 forward is really wonderful, the stuff that gives legendary songs their reputations. That said, the final moments felt like the artist just tried doing more rather than MFG over layers and the end result felt redundant in arrangement via last thirty seconds. Some improvement would have been amazing here in that sense. Overall great track with some excellent, superb sequences (about 50-75% IMO) as if MFG's Project Genesis had a baby. A- 7. Hallucinatory Acid is not as dark as the others and that's okay! This thing's pretty electric and catchy. I remember by this time (Track 7 on CoM) we had the disappointing track Mindwarp. Hallucinatory Acid is so much better by comparison. The atmosphere and acid in the first minute is great, and the synth lead at 1:22 is excellent! The arrangement sounds bit simplistic and samey from roughly 2:05 to 2:39 and is soon replaced by another less than stellar segment. The arriving synth work at 3:35 is better, as well as the less layered segment in the forth minute. The last act becomes increasingly psychedelic, acid-induced, and delectable. The arrangement is fairly simple, but by now we've acclimated to that. The artist blends synths in the last act to infectious degrees. I just feel like certain segments in the first two acts were a lot more effective (edgy, exciting) than others. It's okay to have a simpler track. Not every song has to be a big event, and I like that this song adds variety to the track list. It's a different shade of dark and it works. The last two songs simply sounded more distinct, inventive, and impressive to my ears. Still, Hallucinatory Acid is a very good, if not great track. B+ 8. Unreal begins with more organic sounding melodies! Filteria's album, Daze of Our Lives expanded to incorporating more organic sounding melodies and the result was amazing. I'm suggesting MR evolve more to what works best for MR's evolution too. The song returns the album to being darker. The first albeit least strong act is crunchy and atmospheric, solid. The ambience creates feels via 2:42 (rare on the album so far). The female samples are catchy and a few of the transitions are quite suspenseful. The forth minute produces a beautiful blending of sound/melody work. The song gets a little busy from 4:50 to 5:05. Fortunately it improves at 5:25, and again as we cross 6:00, infectious work. I savor the more organic melody work around 6:38 before we shift back into the edgy, dark, and adrenalized (albeit simple in arrangements() zone. The finale's combination of sounds is strong, with an accent so simple and catchy. Unreal has a healthy dose of melodies. It even has a few feels to boot! The ending is sharp and engaging. One of my only gripes is the lack of developmental melody arrangements. The arrangements are so short and simply. They come and go so fast at the expense of the story, and this lessons the chance of a melody or a segment being as memorable past the coolness of it in the moment. For example, take Pleiadian's, I.F.O, earlier Infected Mushroom, and Filteria's DoOL and LitW albums (at times!). As with tracks 1, 5, 6 -- Unreal is punchier than tracks 3+4 (with exception to the ending of Bad Dreamer 2). B+ 9. Ouija is less dark and in-my-face with exception to some whizz-by effects, a bombastic little element. Just to note, I miss the album having unhinged tracks to the degree of songs 1, 2, 3 on CoM. The song is fluid and refined. It has character and personality. It's punchy, exciting, always developing AND evolving to infectious degrees! I often to you hear that about a song? I love the dark foundation, the arrangement (similar in concept to Juno Reactor but in MR's style and approach). The song's energetic and moody, in part of the synth that reprises around 7:05, complimented by an accent. The song is crunchy, determined, and full of tasty sound/melody work, developmental changes, soundscapes, and atmosphere. It's a fluid, cohesive ride that grows to be more fun on repeat listens. And yet, I can't help but feel like something is missing. The song took time to grow on me, and I wasn't quite sure initially what to score it. Maybe I don't want the ride to end? Or lofty expectations? The problem with the album is that-- IT ENDS. No. I'm glad the album doesn't end with a remix. It gives us a strong and inventive, visionary send-off that's more refined than the masterwork on CoM. This is a surprisingly focused and somewhat restrained, yet meticulously crafted, surreal and haunting, beautifully sound selected and organized, mixed, and well directed track. The last two minutes are fantastic, though the final enhanced layer to a synth lead doesn't make or break anything for me. What a send-off to a flawed but terrific album! A CONCLUSION Perplexity is a strong, dark Goa album, and a solid sequel to one of the best dark Goa albums I have ever heard, and my personal dark Goa favourite of the 21st century to date-- City of Moons. This sequel is intelligent, exciting, imaginative, and exceptionally well produced, mixed and mastered. IMO the album feels in some ways like a refined, updated continuation of City of Moons, and that's not a bad thing when it comes to wildly dynamic songs like The Creature because I loved that more ambitious roller coaster storytelling on City of Moons. Moreover, the more upgraded or newer sounding songs is apparent with Vektogram (Remix), Twisted Reality, Unreal. When these songs work well (the majority of the time assuming you dig this style), it sounds great, excellent, superb. This brings me too-- Criticisms and Feedback: Perplexity [in some ways] feels like I found Tracks 3 and 4 repetitive despite great moments here and there. Perplexity breaks ground, but it's less of a revolution than City Of Moons was IMO. The album is great, but no song topped In the Mouth of Madness and self-titled City Of Moons track did on the previous album. SPEAKING OF EVOLUTION, the second half of MR's track, The Sphere on the compilation-- V/A - The World Behind was super, unique, and captivating. I'd love to hear more evolution. A few more "feels" would have been nice too, as the synths grow a little repetitive at times (for me). Cybernetika's, Scythe of Orion and Penta's Pentafiles are just two examples that incorporated feels, catchy memorable tunes well while remaining wildly dark and fun. Track 3 and 4 dragged the album out for me despite showcasing some terrific work. It's never fun to slog through 1-2 fairly repetitive thirds to then hear a terrific finale. I never had that issue with the previous album outside of Mindwarp (the uneventful song that isn't terrible yet everyone criticisms for not being up to standard). More development (like telling a story) in musical / melody / ambient arrangement would be nice. Various segments begin to show their age just before being replaced with a fresh one, so to speak. There are times when simple arrangements work for fast paced, kinetic energy. But you have to know when to transition or like we say in film-- CUT. Otherwise you overstay your welcome. The sequences between the great moments deserve to be more engaging, even if they're less maximal. I feel like the artist is trying so hard at times to make everything so powerful and strong that it gets exhausting and/or too repetitive. Take risks. Be spontaneous. Walk away and come back at times to take breaks and refresh. Have fun! There's plenty of fun here. And some of the criticisms from the previous album (track 5 for instance going from great to meandering repetitive synths before shifting to WOW movement again) are still an issue here. Final Words: Perplexity is a darkly psychedelic, rich, and satisfying follow up to CoM, but it's not perfect. Some segments grew to be repetitive, muddled, or bland, while certain songs failed to captivate throughout. When it works though, this is a sleek, edgy sequel to one of the best dark Goa albums in decades. Perplexity showcases some of the artist's best songs to date and should hold fans over for some time. The album retains the visionary, adrenalized approach that worked so well on CoM. I expected more of an evolution at times, and wish that he had replaced the weaker songs with healthier ones. All in all, Perplexity is highly recommended for fans of dark Goa Trance. Favorite tracks: 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 ... (and the last acts of 3 & 7) B+ / A- Sample / Buy https://www.suntriprecords.com/release/cat/SUNCD49/