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Album review of “As the House…” from This Piano Plays Itself…live videos from their album release show…

This Piano Plays Itself‘s sophomore release, As the House…, is a well written, well thought out composition two years in the making. It shows ambition, progression, improvement and potential. Each track truly is a melded odyssey of instrumental story telling and vocals that flow softly and melodically together. They form songs in segments, each telling a story in spaced out layers, airy vocals and psychedelic harmonies. The album is conceptual and quite spiritual in nature, with song titles such as ..It Fills with Light,  Who we Were, What Happened and Why We Stayed; each filled with dense melodies, a wide array of effects and epic instrumentals. I used to say these guys needed more power behind the vocals, but As the House… cements the back seat, ventilated style of singing that TPPI portrays over their wall of sound approach. The vocals are a key instrument in the overall sound and I think Eric on lead and Jayson as a harmonizer makes for a nice, sharp sound.

Check out track number three, Where we Lived for the epic instrumentals I speak of. The song adds an eerie feeling to the story behind it and the long, instrumental introduction is nothing short of amazing.  Track #4 is What Happened and greets listeners with a some dance filled, really spacey melodies.  Track #5 How We Left starts out with what could be a salute to the old country with a highlander, Irish old country feel. It features some great harmonies involving the entire band and creates a real sense of brotherhood between the group. Each song features its own unique elements that make it great but also contributes to the end goal…that of dazzling dance beats and blockbuster instrumentals on top of a well orchestrated, complex framework.

Here are a couple videos from TPPI’s As the House… release show…

This Piano Plays Itself on MySpacE

This is a fantastic live album so get out to a TPPI show as soon as you can.  Whether you want some instrumental introspection or you want to take part in some legendary dancing, go ahead and get the new TPPI album.  ?

This Piano Plays Itself is Eric – Vox, Guitar; Aaron – Bass;; Jayson – Guitar, Brass, Keys, Vox; Justin – Drums, Beats, Bells; and Doug – Guitar, Keys, Brass

 Buy As the House… here