LONG DISTANCE CALLING - The Flood Inside

When I reviewed the first record by Pigeon Toe, I was saying that I was a bit sceptical about the chances for success of Long Distance Calling, since they intended to rely on a local singer as a permanent guest. With the release of The Flood Inside we realize that this is not exactly the case: songs with vocal are equal in number with instrumental ones, bringing a balance between the two sides. 

On three of the four songs with vocals (Inside the Flood, Tell the End and The Man Within) we have Martin “Marsen” Fischer as guest - none other than the vocal and guitarist of the aforementioned Pigeon Toe, while Welcome Change proposes a superb duet of Vincent Cavanagh (Anathema) and Petter Carlsen. While all four songs are very good sounding, I can’t say I’m a big fan of this combination (Long Distance Calling plus vocals), because, as I have mentioned on these pages the reason why I admire the four Münster musicians so much is the very lack of a microphone. Still, judging objectively, if I were someone who was just discovering Long Distance Calling, this would hardly be an impediment, because we must admit that all the music on this record is indeed very classy. 

Moving on to the voiceless songs, my favourite by far is Breaker, because it is the most multi-sided. The others are nothing to sneeze at, especially since we are speaking of an exemplary band when it comes to instrumental music. Nucleus, the opening track of the album, reminds me of Alannah Myles’s Black Velvet towards the end, while Ductus and Waves are two more benchmarks in this band’s discography. The genre we encounter on The Flood Inside is a progressive/alternative/post-rock, with influences in places from grunge or stoner - given by the compact riffs of the two guitarist (David Jordan and Florian Füntmann). Then we have an exceptional rhythm section, which is a perfect match for the guitars and the additional sound effects. All the music lacks exceptional technical artifice, giving the impression that it flows by itself, as natural as it could be, as it was supposed to happen.

Finally, I would like to add that my greatest regret is not the absence of a full-time vocal in the Germans’ music, because, as I have said, the songs with vocals are very good. What I regret is that there aren’t more instrumental songs of this album, especially since the ones we have The Flood Inside, as few as they are, are as addictive as the strongest drug: you just get hooked for life.

Fantotzii Nota: 9