kev rowland In 2017 Kaoll came back with their fourth album (although at just 24 minutes long it seems more like an EP), by which time the group had grown to a six-piece, with just Bruno Moscatiello (guitar) and Yuri Garfunkel (flute) surviving from those involved with ‘Odd’. The English translation for the title is ‘Under the Eyes of Eve’, and was produced in conjunction with philosopher Renato Shimmi’s book, with illustrations by Zé Otávio, and really should be treated as a soundtrack. Apparently, it describes the duality between lyricism and oppression in the historical revolutions, from the myth of Eve and the expulsion of the paradise until the present times.

Whereas ‘Odd’ was full of South American rhythms and textures, this album is far more laid back, with slide guitar making its presence felt, as well as far more acoustic guitar than the previous work. When the flute is being used, then it is again the lead melody instrument, but there are plenty of times when Yuri is taking a rest from proceedings, so much so that it is more than three minutes into the album before he can even be heard. There are times when he does use the breathy style favoured by Ian Anderson, but often there is greater focus on fluidity, letting the other instruments provide the emphasis. Although there are plenty of times when this appears to be a more rock based album than the previous one, there are also more ambient textures within this. Overall, this album feels far more like a Western progressive album than the more South American-based jazz fusion album than the previous one.

But, yet again this is a really interesting piece of work, with the only major flaw being the brevity of the album as a whole. I would really have liked it to be twice the length, with the band really stretching out and extending themselves. The classical guitar that starts “Exílio Da Serpente” may be fairly simple, but it is full of beauty, and I would have really enjoyed hearing more. However, as it has been released through the Progshine digital label, it is being made available for just $3, and is an absolute bargain and well worth discovering.