The Living

You just know that any band featuring permanent members who provide guitars, keyboards, violin, viola, bass, drums, cello and vocals are going to be something a little different. Whether that ensures music of equal interest is never quite so assured. Thankfully, assured is a word that ably describes this debut full length release - The Jungle Is Dark But Full Of Diamonds - from Vancouver based The Living, with the interesting interwoven sounds resulting in chamber music with elements of jazz, rock, pop, funk and even the odd hint of world music. It should be a disaster, however in truth it is all rather wonderful. Imagine Muse without the bombastic histrionics and you won't be far away. Think Mr Bungle with less off-the-wallery, or Jackdaw4 without the sugary-bitter melodies and you'd be equally near. Close your eyes and picture all of that crashing together with lashings of grinning energy and skilfully honed talent and you'll be right in the middle of it.

Styles jump and jape from minute to minute, "We Are The Bubble, They Are The Prick" manically grooving through a ginormous bass line, a scything off-beat choked riff and gentle strings. Then add in female-male harmony vocals and handclaps and a muscular beat and poignant cello and.... And this is only one song! Dip into this album at almost any point and you'll stumble gleefully into a smorgasbord of oddly married delights, whether that be the drum thumping, Queen like piano'd romp of "Music Is Magic" where strings swoop and swirl in the background's foreground, or the almost "Kashmir" on strings and funk guitar of "Designer Bilndfold". The combination of voices from guitarist/keyboard player Mike Bell, violinist Elyse Jacobsen, violist John Kastelic and bassist David Spidel adds yet another flavour to the mix (cellist Doug Gorkoff and drummer Samuel Cartwright are the only non-singing The Living). However again, while this aspect (like all others) of The Living is laid on thick, they still somehow feel vital to the organised, melodic, challenging, joyous cacophony this band produce.
Things do slide off the rails slightly towards the end of the album, with an unnecessary thirty second gap either side of "Sneaky Patina", before the sound of electro-humming and what feels like piano strings being scraped introduces the throwaway string skirmish of "Out Of Office", resulting in an unfortunately indulgent ending to an album that up till that point skilfully avoided any such pitfalls (why do bands do this???).
Anyway, that aberration aside The Jungle Is Dark But Full Of Diamonds is a delight, maybe not a delight that will resonate with less adventurous listeners, but for those with more exotic tastes this is an odd journey you'll revel in. Oh and the digi-case, booklet and CD itself are rather beautifully designed and put together too! - Sea of Tranquility

According to the notes at their CD Baby site, “One of the group's primary objectives is to embrace some aspect of most existing genres of music in order to blend and fuse a diverse array of styles, creating a concoction of something decidedly unique, yet with an air of familiarity.” Honestly, listening to this disc, it is obvious they have succeeded in that objective. And it’s also pretty obvious that that type of exploration makes this progressive rock – at least in the true, progressing forward, sense of the word. The music here is incredibly dynamic and it’s amazing how many changes they put into these tracks – and yet keep it cohesive. Nothing here is over four minutes and sixteen seconds in length, but when you listen to these tracks you’ll find that hard to believe because there is so much in each piece. This is an EP and as such is short. It’s also killer.



Track by Track Review

Eye of the Day

Take the Reins
They start things here with a jazz meets lounge sound and that holds it for a while, but they take us out into a killer modern prog jam from there and then alternate between those musical elements. There is a full on horn solo jazz treatment later and then they move it out into metallic territory. We get some Crimson-like music and some more metal sounds. This is another powerhouse.

Real?
Piano starts this out, but as the other instruments join it’s got a definite dissonance and odd texture. This falls pretty well into a RIO sort of stance, but yet there are some more accessible sections. While I’m not crazy about some of the more dissonant stuff they bring in some music that’s very much like Emerson Lake and Palmer and manage to elevate this piece with that. As they shift out to more modern neo-prog sounds this is incredibly powerful and involved. In many ways this is the most purely progressive rock song on show. The piano takes it with a Wakeman-like solo later. And that instrument ends it.

Global Citizen
Powering in with a whirling dervish of sound, this has some more of that Kansas sound on the introduction. They bring some punk rock into this as they carry on, but it’s quite definitely pure modern neo-prog. The violin figures prominently on this and I also make out some sections that make me think of Rush. They bring it down further along the road to a full classical music treatment and then bring it out from there into an alternative rock motif. From there they take us out into some serious metal music, but the smoking violin solo brings us back into Kansas territory. As the crunch guitar is added to this it has a more modern metallic prog feeling to it. - Music Street Journal

Any band featuring guitars, keyboards, violin, viola, bass, drums, cello and vocals are going
to be something a little different. Ensuring the results make music that is equally intriguing is
not something so readily assured. However assured is a word that ably describes this debut
full length release, ‘The Jungle Is Dark But Full Of Diamonds’, from Vancouver based The Living,
their interesting interwoven sounds resulting in chamber music with elements of jazz, rock, pop, funk and even the odd hint of world music. It could be a disaster; however in truth it is all rather wonderful. Imagine Muse without the bombastic histrionics and you won’t be far away. Think Mr Bungle with less off-the-wallery, or Jackdaw4 without the sugary-bitter melodies and you’d be equally near. Close your eyes and picture all of that crashing together with lashings of grinning energy and skilfully honed talent and you’ll be right in the middle of it. Styles jump and jape with ‘We Are The Bubble, They Are The Prick’ manically grooving through a ginormous bass line, a scything off-beat choked riff and gentle strings. Add female/male harmony vocals and handclaps and a muscular beat and poignant cello and.... And this is only one song! Dip into this album at any point and you’ll stumble gleefully into a smorgasbord of oddly married delights, whether that be the drum thumping, Queen like piano’d romp of ‘Music Is Magic’ where strings swoop and swirl in the background’s foreground, or the almost ‘Kashmir’ on strings and funk guitar of ‘Designer Blindfold’. The combination of voices from guitarist/keyboard player Mike Bell, violinist Elyse Jacobsen, violist John Kastelic and bassist David Spidel adds yet another flavour to the mix. However again, while this aspect (like all others) of The Living is laid on thick, they still somehow feel vital to the organised, melodic, challenging, joyous cacophony produced. Things slide off the rails slightly towards the end of the album, with an unnecessary thirty second gap either side of ‘Sneaky Patina’, before electro-humming and what feels like piano strings being scraped, introduces the throwaway string skirmish of ‘Out Of Office’, resulting in an unfortunately overindulgent ending to the album (why do bands do this???).
That aberration aside ‘The Jungle Is Dark But Full Of Diamonds’ is a delight, maybe not a delight that will resonate with less adventurous listeners, but for those with more exotic tastes this is an odd journey you’ll revel in.
Steven Reid - Fireworks Magazine - Issue 58

A relatively new band formed in 2006 in the beautiful city of Vancouver, The Living describe themselves as 'Exotic Symphonic Rock' and are probably like no band you have heard before. The instrumentation includes guitar, keyboards, bass and drums fronted by violin, viola and cello but don't expect an Electric Light Orchestra sound-alike because you could be in for a disappointment. With a couple of EPs under their belt, The Jungle Is Dark But Full Of Diamonds is the band's first full-length album with cited influences as diverse as Muse, The Mars Volta, Stravinsky, Ravel and Mahavishnu Orchestra.

So what does the band have to offer other than a collection of quirky song titles? Well, they are anything but predictable with a sound that's far heavier than you might expect given the instrumentation with wall to wall vocals courtesy of frontman, keyboardist and guitarist Mike Bell.

The album opens appropriately with one of its strongest tunes, Earthmusher with the string instruments weaving colourful textures around some fine piano work. The edgy vocal delivers a ridiculously catchy chorus before a mellow cello passage sets the scene for a grandiose finale. Only the claustrophobic production lets the side down I feel.

From here on the songs come thick and fast and although they are delivered with plenty of energy and tension the musicianship is impressively skilful, particularly by the string players. Designer Blindfold opens with pizzicato strings over a busy drum pattern from stick man Samuel Cartwright and somehow the song reminded me of later period Spock's Beard. Both Maximum Gentleman and We Are The Bubble, They Are The Prick are relentless in their frenzied attack with the former almost quoting Khachaturian's Sabre Dance at one point whist the latter features Bell's singing at its most manic and theatrical plus some impressive bass dynamics from David Spidel.

Mister Feminister on the other hand is pure Kid Creole and The Coconuts with its funky guitar riff and energetic male/female vocal exchanges whilst Media returns to the hyperactive staccato riffing that's characteristic of many of the tracks here with Led Zep's Kashmir coming to mind on more than one occasion. In contrast Requiem For Bessie is uncharacteristically moody and introspective for the most part before building to a potent climax with violinist Elyse Jacobson bowing like her life depended upon it and Bell's emotionally raw vocal.

The prominent guitar riff on the appropriately titled Dream Runner brings the metal flavour of Dream Theater to the table whilst the frantic Music Is Magic takes time out for some playful vocal gymnastics. The concluding and sprawling Sneaky Patina should have been the albums crowning glory but somehow it all falls apart before the end. It builds promisingly enough with an edgy rhythm pattern, spikey guitar and inspired bowing before a brooding mid-section that recalls The Beatles' Come Together. Unfortunately it disintegrates into a discordant, semi improvised jam; better is the spikey conclusion that sounds not unlike mid-period King Crimson.

Interestingly, despite the colourful instrumentation and the hard rock, jazz and prog influences, there's a punk ethic that hangs over the music of The Living. For me however their uncompromising style is perhaps a tad too one dimensional at times, lacking a little light and shade which is not helped by the overbearing lead vocals. That said there's no denying that the Canadians have carved themselves a unique sound and created some strikingly original material to showcase their exceptional instrumental talents. - Dutch Progressive Rock Page

Vancouver group the Living describes itself as “exotic symphonic rock.”
The band brings elements of the progressive rock sounds of the seventies and more recent arena rock artists such as Muse into the songs on its 10 track album The Jungle Is Dark But Full of Diamonds. Available through theLiving.ca, the album packs an impressive variety of ideas and structures into the music. No doubt the group’s show at the Rickshaw Theatre with JUNO Award-winners Pugs & Crows and the folk-a-riffic e.s.l. who haven’t played around town for ages.
Members Elyse Jacobson (violin) and Mike Bell (lead vocals, various instruments) took the time to answer a few questions and introduce their unique group.
The Province: With the release of The Jungle is Dark and Full of Diamonds, you have your full length debut. How has the music developed since the earlier 2007 and 2009 EPs?
Elyse Jacobson: “This is the first time we’ve had a string trio in the band (on the last two albums there was just violin and some flute), so the music is even more string-heavy than before. Generally speaking the songs are tighter and more streamlined in structure, and the lyrics are more political.”
P: The bio notes that the band came together out of boredom with the other mainstream musical choices out there. Were there a lot of auditions before the final sextet came together?
EJ: “We have held auditions for band members in the past, both in Vancouver and in Berlin, but the current lineup was hand-picked by us. In our opinion they are some of the best musicians in the Lower Mainland, and we’re stoked that they’re so into what we do. They’re also just great guys and are good friends of ours. John (viola), Doug (cello), and I play together a lot outside of The Living, mostly in classical chamber ensembles and symphony orchestras, and we have for years. Sam (drums) plays in The Whiskeydicks with Mike, and the three of us also toured Europe as the backing band for Melanie Dekker. Dave (bass) filled in at the last minute for a bassist of ours in the past, and we really clicked both musically and personally.”
P: On a song such as Designer Blindfold, you’ve got everything from Queen-ish vocals to the artier side of power metal and even a funky pizzicato passage. I take it anything goes when you are songwriting?
Mike Bell: “We like to change it up! We all have pretty eclectic tastes in music, so why not take all your favourite things from different styles and mix them together? That being said, this has hurt us in the past – when people can’t nail you down to a specific genre it can be very challenging to get into festivals, get reviews, radio play, etc. Nevertheless, for us, this is about making art, being ourselves and creating our own sound. Right now we are musically idealistic and we hope to keep it that way.”
P: There was a time when “prog” was a dirty word. However the genre never went away and certainly a lot of bands are going for big, orchestral statements now. Is it just the logical place for classically trained players who want to rock?
MB: “That’s a good theory. Classical players are used to playing music that can be very detailed, complex and virtuosic, with compositions that can be totally different in structure and length from popular songs. All these things align with “prog,” so it seems logical.”
EJ: “To tell you the truth, we didn’t set out with the conscious intention of creating “prog” music – it just seems to be the category our stuff fits into the best. Reviews of our albums often compare us to artists we’ve never even heard of. However, progressive rock has always been about incorporating classical/art music elements into rock music, so yeah, I think it makes sense.”
P: What is the next plan for the band after this week’s Rickshaw gig?
MB: “Our violist John will be spending the whole summer in Bali touring with his Balinese Gamelan group, Gamelan Gita Asamara, so we plan to spend the summer writing an album’s worth of new material, perfecting it in the fall while playing some local shows, recording an album in the winter, doing a possible east coast tour in the Spring, then hitting some festivals in Summer 2014.”
sderdeyn@theprovince.com
Twitter.com/StuartDerdeyn - The Province