Intrinsic Nature’s music is the product of Milo Keysington’s extensive experience as a musician and his singular creative vision for the band’s music. His compatriots in the band, guitarist Bruno Levy and drummer Steve Myers, are the ideal collaborators for helping Keysington to fill out the five impressive songs on the band’s second release, an EP entitled I.N. Concert with You. The band’s music defies categorization – there are obviously leanings towards prog and a high level of instrumental and compositional excellence, but the band knows how to keep things tight and there’s some strong pop music elements influencing their work. Melody, seamless transitions, and even some hooks find their way into the otherwise intelligent and highly textured compositions. The band’s influences are never breathtakingly obvious – instead, they have been fully subsumed into the band’s identity and filtered through their own skill set into something quite their own.
Related Article: https://www.numberonemusic.com/intrinsicnature/merchandise/89082384-Buy-the-Award-Winning-EP-IN-concert-With-You
“Eyes That Flicker” has a bit of a femme fatale air in its lyrical subject matter and Keysington’s vocals handle the track with great style and emotional substance. There’s a definite progressive air surrounding the songwriting, but there’s also a focus on the chorus and bridge that clearly signals their intentions to keep the songwriting as accessible as possible. None of these songs exceed four minutes in length, but Intrinsic Nature’s musicianship keeps things lively within this small space. “Spend My Time” takes a stylistic turn into much more hard rock territory, but this turn doesn’t signal Intrinsic Nature becoming predictable or heavy-handed. They handle the hard rock style with a fleet-footed feel thanks to Steve Myers’ great drumming. Much like the opener, the vocals are a little buried in the mix, but Keysington’s voice cuts through the muffle nonetheless and he sings with complementary passion.
There’s an edgier feeling surrounding the song “No Time Like Now” compared to the preceding tracks and Keysington does a particularly strong job with his vocal. His voice alternates between near threat and desperate urgency; it’s impossible to lose his vocal for the song. Levy’s guitar primarily concentrates on dropping in biting fills, but he steps out at key points to exert his own talented influence over the performance. Myers’ drumming, as well, stands out once again and the rhythm section powers along with a lot of swing. “At the Top” has a classic rock retro feel and a wide swing that gives it swagger not shared by any of the other tunes. Keysington’s singing is a little too buried in the mix here, but it unintentionally adds to the rumbling, subterranean feel of the song. The sparkling keyboards and flourish opening the last song “Be With You” sets the stage for the ideal closer. There are some nice guitar touches in the song and the accessibility in this song is very strong. “Be With You” is the final touch on a fantastic EP that sets up Intrinsic Nature for an even brighter musical and artistic future ahead. I.N. Concert With You might be an EP, but it’s an impressively dexterous outing from a band with talent galore.
8 out of 10 stars
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/I-N-Concert-You-Intrinsic-Nature/dp/B012JA0DL4
Lydia Hillenburg
