Penta - Portuguese abduction

[buzzman]

Penta - Portuguese abduction

 

 

So heres Penta's new album, quickly released after "Horn please" earlier this year! I was a little afraid that it was to early released, that he didn't put as much work in the album that it has deserved. Anyways, i have high expectations and im Hoping for the same trip to Pentaland, i have gotten from hes earlier releases.

 

Vegetarian ballad:

"All obsessed... All obsessed with the taste of flesh" is being said in between the crazy madnezz of multiple dark pads and evil strings, the typical pitched synthesizers, wierd perc. and the pumping bassline, creating the typical "Penta" experience.. A great track that evolves in the typical Penta way, always changing in a very unpredictable way... But i miss some surprises in it though, nothing new here, just a really good track.

 

BBQ:

Starts off quick, with some wierd ideas and cool tricks. The penta crazyness continous with dark atmospheres, wierd effects that will totally dissorientate you(in the good way of course:) And the part with all the videogame samples, it takes you straight into funland! Dont know if everyone will enjoy this track, but i shure as hell did!

 

Time Jump:

Don't really understand all the lyrics in the tracks here but i got so far with the male voice: "You see, i was visiting the 2030, when i sensed a disturbance in the time continoue. I realized now that what i felt was your touch on the time machine!" Anyways, this is more what i had expected from this album, stomping dancefloor madness with lots of cool fun breaks, twists and turns..

And that pianolike synth(3:05) really gets my attention, creating a feeling i can not explane... This is as i expected another very good track.

 

Andes:

This is more controlled than the past tracks, a bit deeper and not so stuffed with chaos, but still he keeps on going with tons of energy and crazy twists for the dancefloor! Still with the dark pentadelic atmosphere i just can't get enough of

 

Mendozed:

Im not to happy about the sound in the beginning, sounds like someone saying: duddeli, duddli duddli dudli.. But it stops again quckly, thank good, and we are on the road to pentaland again. He keeps surprising with his innovative sound, and outa space tricks... Sometimes i get the visions of aliens speaking the sounds to me(it might be the drugs) but i haven't experienced that with any other music... Like the tracks are alive

 

Piscotech:

Can't say much about this track, except im saving it for my next mushroom trip It just sounds so much fun and very psychedelic!

 

No more evil:

"Plunch the world into darkness" This track sounds more of something from funraiser, the same creepy atmospheres with the creepy voc samples, and i regognize alot of the elements to.. It's a great track, but nothing groundbreaking.

 

Magic balls:

Ahahaha, this is good... Sounds like someone is farting with a baloon or something, very laughable stuff. I would love to here this live. Would go completely nuts from all the joy and happiness!What a great humor in this track.

 

Neo cheesy:

Bah, nah nah nah nah, bah, nah nah nah nah, baaah nah naah naah naah naah naah!

Do i have to say more? Hate this track to death.

 

 

Well, all in all this was a great journey to pentaland.. The production is outstanding, and the energy of the album is extreme! But it is maybe a bit more tough to swallow for homelistening than te past albums he've made, but im shure that's not what mr. Penta had in mind about this album! Dancefloor madness in highest possible quality! The one thing that i am a little dissapointed about is the similarities to Horn Please, you can here it has not been long since it was released... Ohh and the last track of course, that is just BAD!

 

So it's a 9/10 from me

[Pandemonium]

The last track was the most psychedelic one on the album. I love it. I love the entire album, but the weird vocals on this track are goofy.

I was gonna provide samples, but the weird voacls come in around the 5 minute mark and Saiko and Psyshop dont provide samples that long.

[buzzman]

The last track was the most psychedelic one on the album. I love it. I love the entire album, but the weird vocals on this track are goofy.

I was gonna provide samples, but the weird voacls come in around the 5 minute mark and Saiko and Psyshop dont provide samples that long.

Yeah, maybe if he left the awful melodi and vocals out, it had been a great track, but i had to turn it off, couldn't even stand listening to it... But thats just me, maybe other people like it.

[DaZeD]

Thats quick...

[Sawfly]

Well alot better than Horn Please but still doesn't anywhere what he use to make. Well, enough of this complaining

 

7/10 from me

[buzzman]

Well alot better than Horn Please but still doesn't anywhere what he use to make. Well, enough of this complaining

 

7/10 from me

 

I think horn please is the best album he've made

[DaZeD]

 

I think horn please is the best album he've made

Really?Better then Pentafiles too?

[buzzman]

Really?Better then Pentafiles too?

He changed hes style, and i think it's for the better... More twisted and wierd...

[Sawfly]

He changed hes style, and i think it's for the better... More twisted and wierd...

I have to disagree with that but taste is taste.

[buzzman]

I have to disagree with that but taste is taste.

Exactly

[Jon Cocco]

PENTA - PORTUGUESE ABDUCTION

AURAQUAKE RECORDS

2007

 

 

1. Vegetarian Ballad ... B

2. BBQ ... B-

3. Time Jump ... B+

4. Andes ... B+

5. Men Dozed ... B-

6. Piscotech ... B

7. No More Evil ... B

8. Magic Balls ... B-

9. Neo Cheesy ... C

 

 

 

I bought and enjoyed 2007's Horn Please and found it the best Full On dark Psytrance album of 2007. Those are big words from me who finds most albums average and below. I won't even buy an album anymore unless I hear the extended samples several times over several weeks with few exceptions. Anyway I like Portuguese Abduction. It's fast, dark, energetic, aggressive, and driving. Yes I like the ADD style. It will work very well for the general impatient person who likes dark Psytrance.

 

The female/male voice work on Time Jump is very catchy in combination with the chosen melody/sound work. There is alot of crunchy textures, crisp melodies, and various other tasty soundscapes. Time Jump is an example of a concept driven track on that incorporates many catchy parts to put together a strong whole. I really love the moment when an echoed female voice says something in the middle of the track followed by the clanging, driving melody and bassline. There is just something very smooth and tasty about this voice and music combination.

 

Andes is another great number with stand out sounds and melodies. I love how a certain, powerful and memorable melody [chime/note] is produced and not abandoned. The song is built upon or around this strong sound. These two tracks are strong examples of why I enjoy Penta's new style and albums. The mixing work is great, very creative at times. Both this and the previous number really showcase Penta's mixing skills well.

 

No More Evil is another track with a powerful, rising (altered) melody. It's alien and very original sounding. It wouild have been cool if the song didn't make this melody available for 10 seconds once in the song however revisited it and built other supporting melodies around it.

 

But some other tracks seem lost, without sense of direction, like a beat with a bunch of special effects around it. In other words, the general song structure seems throw as many melody and sound groups as possible with the intent something will stick. I'd take quality over quantity however.

 

 

Gripes / Weaknesses / Comparisons

 

What is up with the Jewish dialogue singing in 9. Neo Cheesy? I hate that. It's terrible. I thought this was a badass dark psytrance album? Hava? Hava? Suddanly I'm at a Jewish dance! Remove the dialogue. I'm surprised to believe that this artist intentionally made a cheesy track by putting "cheesy" in the title. Great! I really liked the last track on Horn Please. It ended the album with a bang, not a whimper. I don't know if this "singing" was a joke or the artist being goofy or what. But it takes me completely out of the mood I want to be in while listening to such an album. I've expressed many positive things about Penta over the years. But this final track is pretty pathetic. The song would have actually been decent without the annoying vocal addition.

 

Portuguese Abduction was released so close to Horn Please, my observation is that, this talented artist seems to have had very little time to grow, mature, and further improve upon his new style. In other words, this isn't a large or even small leap of improvement from Horn Please.

 

I find the melodies and atmosphere combined at 1:36 in No More Evil (amongst melodic moments in some other tracks) great. But those are melodic moments. Build upon them! Develop them! Create more tracks like the most infectious ones. Don't just leave greatness in the dust and skip to 20 other quick moments of rushed sounds and melodic bits. Even artist Talpa had significantly more substance in his debut "The Art of Being Non" album, in my opinoin. The general track here is virtually all style and little to no substance. Not even the voices samples seem related to the songs in some cases. Naturally I love lots of complexity and changes of scenery to keep things interesting, but I also love good or at least interesting character development.

 

This album could have involved some amazing twists and turns. Such unexpected elements may have included: Interesting introductions, songs with suspense, more emphasis on developed melody structures, something original and different sounding as opposed to the same style all over again in new tracks, etc. Something new is tried in the last track and it proves that new isn't always better. If it's not better, don't do it is a smart step in my opinion.

 

I strongly feel that this artist and/or label rushed to get this album out for before Christmas. The end result is a pretty good psytrance album with potentially more emphasis on Full On by Penta to date. Is this a bad thing? No. Predictable? Yes. Moreover, Horn Please came first and the style broke ground in dark psytrance. Portuguese Abduction isn't as fresh sounding. It isn't innovative like before and in that sense, it's less special and novel.

 

This album does not feel as rushed as it feels like more could have been done to make it sound more refreshing and in that sense, awesome. Naturally there is alot of new work relative to the 9 exclusive tracks. However that is self-explanatory. I feel like I've heard this album before, and in a sense I have. What I'd really like is 8 or 9 excellent, super songs. I can't see it being bad for sales either. But maybe this artist should take a break first. That's usually when fresh ideas start coming in and we create a masterpiece when least expected.

 

 

The Neutral

 

I enjoy music I can not only dance mindlessly too, but also listen to at home, while driving, in a state of trance, etc. With this album I can imagine several things it may compliment: Such things include dancing and driving to at night. The more character development, charater, and/or capturing elements a song has, the more potential it generally has for replay value, lasting appeal. This album may be mixed for some as far as lasting appeal goes outside of dancing. The last track does not excite me to hear the album again, but that's me.

 

 

In Conclusion, Portuguese Abduction is basically Horn Please: Part 2. It's a good sequel in the same style, but nothing groundbreaking. If you liked Horn Please, you will likely enjoy this one to some degree. Just don't expect the sequel to triumph the original. Keeping a surefire hit style works. Portuguese Abduction seems more for dancefloors than for home listening as with Horn Please. However this one seems even more for dance floors. I would have simply liked to see this style taken to the next level as opposed to being continued in the exact same, stylish vein. Where is the theme/concept and/or character driven songs on this album like Foggy I wonder. I miss those. Time Jump is one of the few tracks that comes close to concept-driven however its plot is so abstract that I find the story incoherent. Foggy (on Horn Please) on the other hand seemed like a horror character destroying and/or negatively affecting everyone in its path. The strong atmosphere and main melody was brooding and gave great tone to this disturbed creature. But "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" clearly seems to be the mentality behind keeping the same style here. Portuguese Abduction sounds like the artist made a new claymation model in yesterdays clay. Regardless, this style is working for now. And they'll continue milking the cow for what its got. Naturally the supply of milk will last longer through peoples support the greater the songs are. This means not avoiding being cheesy and disappointing as the artist so presumptiously did on the last number here. The final lasting impression is important and a disappointment on this album, an otherwise solid, albeit less refreshed follow-up.

 

 

Favorite Tracks: 3, 4, 6, 8

 

 

B

 

 

Samples = http://www.saikosounds.com/english/display...ase.asp?id=6864

[buzzman]

PENTA - PORTUGUESE ABDUCTION

AURAQUAKE RECORDS

2007

 

 

1. Vegetarian Ballad ... B

2. BBQ ... B-

3. Time Jump ... B+

4. Andes ... B+

5. Men Dozed ... B- / B

6. Piscotech ... B

7. No More Evil ... B / B+

8. Magic Balls ... B

9. Neo Cheesy ... C

 

Review

Nice review, exactly what i would have said if i could express myself better Except that you gave Neo cheesy a C... I would rate it F----- Edited June 28, 2011 by Penzoline
Don't quote the whole review.

[Sawfly]

Nice review, exactly what i would have said if i could express myself better Except that you gave Neo cheesy a C... I would rate it F-----

My friend likes that track

 

But I guess most of my friends like the annoying things producers some times put into their tracks. I wonder why is that

[marcinito]

Really?Better then Pentafiles too?

umm.. music goes on and in my humble opinion please horn in better than pentafiles.

god... some people are clinging onto their 'cult status albums' way too much...

[Sawfly]

umm.. music goes on and in my humble opinion please horn in better than pentafiles.

god... some people are clinging onto their 'cult status albums' way too much...

Yes music goes on but some albums are timeless

[fluffymushi]

i like this one. the psy flows effortlessly & eventhough it's incredibly detailed you never get the feeling that he's trying too hard, as with many albums these days.

good stuff, neo cheesy included

[Jon Cocco]

I like tracks 1, 3, and 4. More tracks like those (though they lacked kickass and fun surprises) would have been great.

 

I feel like various tracks here didn't make the cut on Horn Please. Tracks like Andes is really good though. I like tracks 3 and 4 because they seem idea driven, less scattered, more developed with a thought, and the melody, mixing work is catchier. Many songs on this album feel like filler; more could have been impressed with Penta's style.

 

Much of the action here seems been there, done that. Horn Please was novel. It would be cool if he made an album more fresh and imaginative.

[ion1zed]

PENTA - PORTUGUESE ABDUCTION

AURAQUAKE RECORDS

2007

 

 

1. Vegetarian Ballad ... B

2. BBQ ... B-

3. Time Jump ... B+

4. Andes ... B+

5. Men Dozed ... B-

6. Piscotech ... B

7. No More Evil ... B

8. Magic Balls ... B-

9. Neo Cheesy ... C

 

Review

 

I agree with most of what you've written, though "Time Jump" is an A in my book, and "Andes" an A-.

If he would've mixed the best tracks from "Horn Please" and "Portuguese Abduction" into one album, it'd have been one of the great classics of all time.

Edited June 28, 2011 by Penzoline
Don't quote the whole review.

[yerg]

By far, the best track on the album is Time Jump. It's a 10/10 for me.

Nine minutes of non-stop drive through the most creative and exciting synths that you'll hear in a psy-trance track.

It's got a few well timed short breakdowns, but the rest of the track is as stomping as it gets.

 

The other track worth mentioning is BBQ. It's full of acid lines and some creative twists, but not as good as Time Jump.