3.5

Release data:

Paul Hartzog – Faces
CD, Cydonia Records, 1996

Only recently someone pointed my attention to this “forgotten” recording from American musician Paul Hartzog, which has remained the only one until now.

The impressionistic idea Paul Hartzog wanted to put forth on “Faces” was a story of a cosmic traveller finding solace and illumination among the ruins of an ancient civilization, as he imagined him wandering a deserted planet full of nature and ruins.
Thus asking “Will we be the traveller or the lost?. As such, Paul wanted to provoke a reflection on whether mankind will overcome his difficulties and explore the cosmos or whether we will succumb to our darker sides and become merely the ruins to be found by others.

Well, the instrumental sonic content of this album sure is a nice surprise, sounding fresh and highly cinematic.
The ten tracks, all composed with a Korg 01-Wpro, are at times powerful and rhythmic, but very nicely rendered with warm, melodic lines and textures.

The dynamic sequencing on the fourth track “Observatory” reminds of the muscle electronica on Mark Shreeve’s earlier recordings, but stylistically the music generally fits in the tradition of early Patrick O’Hearn and Richard Burmer.

All in all, “Faces” is a well produced and bright sounding album I’d like to recommended. Personally I’m happy it hasn’t completely disappeared in the spirals of time.