His past catalogue and (maybe even more) his live performances have shown that Greg Haines manages to combine artistic consistency with surprising changes of directions.
One never knows what to expect, but one can always rest assured it will be good..
On a first listen, “Where We Were“, Haines’ new release on Denovali Records, sounds surprisingly different from what he has done before.
When the relatively short opening track from “Digressions” slowly fades into the second track, “Caden Cotard”, an unexpected, jaw-dropping massiveness starts to build – a full orchestral sound that I did not expect to hear on this third Greg Haines album.
It’s not ‘loud’, it’s not ‘noise’ – it’s beautifully restrained, but it’s just…massive.
But then, within the same track, the intensity drops to a much quieter level to become much more intimate.
With this flow of tension and release, “Digressions” somehow compares to a post-rock album, however with a different instrumentation.
Musically, it feels more like it’s a full classical symphony.
