It has to be said that The Owl, the debut EP from instrumental prog outfit The Parallax Method, is an eyecatching release – with a striking bright orange album cover and featuring tracks with fantastic names such as Owlgarythm and Honey I Shrunk The Squid, it’s something that will pique your interest before you even hit the play button – which can only be a good thing!
Musically, The Owl is a decent enough listen. It’s got a nice bit of complexity to it with some foot-tappingly good beats and funky guitar lines, but it does feel like The Parallax Method can do a little more. There’s nothing about the EP that really grips you and whilst the music is nice enough, The Parallax Method have fallen into the trap of playing things a little safe and it ultimately results in them not quite standing out from the crowd – it’s just a standard instrumental prog release that doesn’t quite go the distance.
There’s certainly potential here. The Parallax Method have got ability, that’s for sure, but it just needs a bit of fine-tuning to become something that will remain in your mind after the release comes to an end.
6/10
