BBI - BBI - 2008

This is a very interesting and peculiar prog novelty for this year 2008 - interesting because it brings a powerful breath of fresh air to the standard of heavy progressive rock, peculiar because it is the first and final testimony of a band that died too young and before its time (so to speak). BBI's eponymous posthumous release offers a frontal mixture of whirlwind, thunderstorm and neurosis for the current development of intelligent rock music. The band feels comfortable ordaining its sonic structure within a power-trio's frame, inserting the pulsational resources of zheul, the complex subtleties of jazz and the muscle of psychedelia in its epredominantly heavy approach. We can trace the family airs that link BBI to the heavy aspect of Xaal (former band of the guitarist, another ephemeral band with lots of talent), but most of the stylistic coincidences are connected to Korekyojin and Yang: controlled complexity delievered in openly extroverted moods in a perfect copulation of finesse and harshness. The opening track 'Dvdx' brings a catchy access to the band's offering, bearing an inexpugnable array of electrifying sounds. 'Riff Fantom' shows a lead guitar that reminds us of a Zeppelinized Hendrix lost in a frippian dream. The bass solo that emerges from minute 4 is brutally atrocious in its challenging dexterity; there is also a wild drum solo built on a guitar-bass litany, which eventually leads to the incendiary climax that ends the track with flying colors (dark colors, that is, in order to provide the pictorial metaphor a tighter accuracy). 'Charlie' states a priority for jazz-driven structures, with the guitar elaborating controlled textures and the bass utilizing the fuzz in order to create a dynamics (instead of fire) that complements the guitar's empty spaces. The drummer once again highlights his labor, this time bringing Terry Bozzio-inspired airs to the fore. 'Les Indiens' states a middle term between the preceding track's subtlety and the indefatigable neurosis of 'Riff fantom'. 'Trente-Trois' sounds like a Pastorius-era Weather Report track performed by a Hendrix/Beck tribute band. The tortured psychedelic shades brought in by the lead guitar meet an adequate counterpoint in the funky-instilled basis performed by the rhythm duo. When the guitar indulges in McLaughlin-like soloing, the rhythm duo shifts to a rockier trend in order to sustain the mood properly. 'La Main du Diable' fills the album's last 7 minutes, being a spectacular closure. The basic musical idea is quite simplistic, but it is in the expansions that the band shows its know-how: here I find the most exciting guitar solos in the album, the tightest combination of punch and catchiness, the most structured display of power, in a few words, the perfect example of rocking energy in a progressive framework. This repertoire doesn't reach the 40-minute mark, and that's a real pity since BBI reveals itself as an act capable of creating permanent excitement in music. This "interrupted" legacy of BBI ultimately released by the Soleil Zheul label cries out its merits to be appreciated as an important item of heavy prog. 4 ⅜ stars!
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