### Optimystical: Distant encounters

#### 17/07/09 || Trauma

I must say, what a cleveritable moniker! Let me think of some more overlapping adjectives I can put together.

Boilingering Bitterrible Charmingling Largentle Nuclearing Horribleeding Plasticky Rottentative (my new band by the way)

There is some music once you get past the retarded name, but what kind?

Synth/prog/hevy rock. Did you even have to ask? Some hard riffs but it’s drenched in cheesy keyboards and optimism. Vocals aren’t terrible but the accent in some of the songs like “Outcast” is, hahaha. “In the aftermåth of the rain,” hahaha. All with this bum bumbumbum bumbumbum bumbumbum bom rhythm. Whoever sings on the first two tracks before this has a good voice for the style, so I’ll give him props for that.

My favorite part is the start of “Tonite”: “Time is runnin’ ooouud!!!” Hahahahaha. “Lesten to the voice of reesin.” So nasally, hahahaha.

Here’s some lyrics from “Startide Rising”: “You, only you, can touch me in the midnight.” I’ll touch you in the midnight if you remember not to forget to touch my morningrise for an afternoon delight. Unfortunately that brings us to a lull in the music until the final few tracks. “The storm” brings all the cheese of Yngwie without any of the shredding and amazing guitar work.

Listening to this gave me this 70’s/80’s progrock vibe a la later Van Halen and certain Dan Swanö projects. And what album like that would be complete without a song named after a woman. Yes, we have on here. It’s called “Jennifer”. Very upbeat and makes me want to smile rainbows, put on a g-string and go ride my bike in a parade. “Jennifer is dancing, dance the night away” “Jenniffeeeeeeerrr”. That’s right, she’s not Jamie nor crying — she’s Jennifer and she’s dancing the night away.

To close this, the music is kinda catchy for what it is and the cheese this guy is going for he achieves, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. The laughs I enjoyed while listening to it did put me in a semi-good mood, though.

3.5 touches of your midnight out of 10.

- Information
- Released: 2009
- Label: Avenue of Allies
- Website: www.optimystical.se
- Band
- Robin Vagh: guitars, bass synth
- Multiple throat gaggers: vocals
- Man or machine: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Sunburst in the midnight
- 02. Happen
- 03. Outcast
- 04. Tonite
- 05. Startide rising
- 06. Face in the window
- 07. Lost Horizon
- 08. In our world
- 09. Jennifer
- 10. The unexpected
- 11. The storm
- 12. I go blind