Blog → Great music fully streamable on last.fm - Byron: Forbidden Drama

Well, this is my first post here in a very, very long while, so would you please ignore the cobwebs and the thick layer of dust? Thank you. It's still a warm and welcoming place, mind you, and hopefully you'll realize that soon :)
Now, on to today's album, shall we?

I'm aware many of you won't bear with me until the end of this review, so I'm gonna start with the conclusion :D
Progressive/alternative rock band Byron have recently released their debut album Forbidden Drama, which is now available for full streaming here on last.fm. Do yourself a favor and check it out. You have my word, it is completely worth it - and it's only gonna take you some 15 minutes anyway. Or an hour, if you like it enough.
Now, on to the said review.

Great musicians have a way of making themselves heard. Especially in a smallish, sad country such as my own, which bears the strangest of curses: see, in the past few years I've come to discover that this country is nothing short of a twilight zone. There's absolutely GREAT music being made here, especially in the fields of alternative/rock, electro/chill-out and experimental jazz. So my biggest question is WHY in the name of all things sacred is so damn hard for these artists to hit the market and enjoy more than just an underground-ish success?
Of course, it all boils down to labels that keep producing cheap, third-rate bubblegum-pop with an obstinacy worthy of a much better cause. All for the sake of a fast buck. Well, in this age when the WWW shakes hands with indie artists, this is gonna be the music labels' demise, I'm telling you.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that despite the highly unfriendly industry, great artists have a way of shining through. You just have to look hard enough.

Dan Byron has been around for quite a while. A former collaborator of then black-metal band Agathodaimon, he had a huge contribution to Romania's alternative rock scene. Bands such as Kumm and Urma, in which he was a member, are definite landmarks in this country's recent musical history. So even though his work in the said bands was nothing short of spectacular, it was time for him to move on to a project of his own. This is how, a couple of years ago, byron came to be.

Their music is extremely difficult to classify, due to the very diverse influences it bears - from Thrak-era King Crimson, Dream Theater or late Pink Floyd to Noir Désir, Radiohead, Coldplay, Gorillaz, going through My Brightest Diamond, Lamb and Tori Amos up to Prince and David Bowie. This music has it all - feeling, insight, instrumental proficiency, smart lyrics.
Dan's voice is a maelstrom of feeling, and that's just a lame scratch on the surface. Going from soft and warm (Watercolor, Toast Proposal) to almost tormented (the ending of Annoying Detail), to harsh and abrasive (Losing Control), all the way spiced with specific, wild-on-the-verge-of-insanity vocal harmonies (most notably on Blow Up My Tears). The keyboards work also shines, with brilliant, prog-inspired interventions every now and then (Losing Control, The Dawn of a Drunk Bum, Fake Life) and the guitar work is rock-solid (pun intended :D). The use of flute on several tracks also works miracles, bringing a certain distinctness to the whole. Did I say Jethro Tull? Well, you get the picture.
And of course, everything would be in vain without a great drummer to keep it all in one place. Cristi is that kind of guy. Witnessing him play live really makes you reconsider the importance of drums in a band. Of course, it also shows in the studio work, but you can't really get to appreciate the drumming unless you see the band live.

Which brings us to the newest chapter in Byron's history - a few weeks ago, an unplugged concert was held in the medieval city of Târgu Mureş during which a DVD was shot. Can't wait until October to get my hands on it - it'll be pure gold, I'm sure of that. A new album won't be out until spring 2009, but in the meantime at least one video will be released for a track out of Forbidden Drama - Blow Up My Tears.

And it seems I've brought this lovely little post to an end. If you end up enjoying Byron - or any other unknown, breakthrough, indie band by that matter - please spread the word, it's the best helping hand you can give. Other than buying their records, of course. Hopefully Forbidden Drama will soon be available on Amazon or any other online store, for the full enjoyment of every other music lover in this big damn world.

So say we all.