CD, Stateart, 2005
www.nick-grey.com
A lot of musicians in the world are to be considered different in the sound they create. Nick Grey is one such musician.
His music is atypical of any sort of genre and cannot be described without mixing quite a few classic and neo-modern styles together (opera, carnival, ebm, avant-garde, etc). While Grey’s is a unique sound, it doesn’t provide an aesthetic quality to make it catchy or especially memorable to the listener. The album is not the sort to be played in the club atmosphere, it’s more of a solo-listening experience kind of sound.
Kudos must be given to the artist for being able to blend so many genres together so seamlessly, and also for creating a rich, vibrantly distinctive sound. One track in particular caught this author’s ear: “Structure and Faith”. This selection was especially pleasing and at least worth picking up the album for. As for the rest of the collection – interesting, but not particularly striking.
In other words, Nick Grey and the Random Orchestra’s “Regal Delight” is worth a good couple of listens just to experience the artistic flare he’s put into his work, but the album will most likely end up sitting on a shelf after a while. Final score: six out of ten habanero peppers.
[6/10]
— Ethan Cohen