The title track of Afterglow has an easy feeling, a funky Curtis Mayfield-style guitar break and, I believe, the only vocal sounds on a Lomo track to date. The overall effect reminds me of Santana’s Borboletta period, before an accordion-like bandeneon comes in adding a French flair toward the end. The bandoneon ends up playing a major role in each song on Afterglow. Two versions of “Blind Pew” provide a study in differences in rhythmic emphasis. On Painkiller, “Sharkness” clocked in at slightly less than four minutes; here we are treated to a deluxe version filled out to nearly ten minutes. While Lomo’s ethic is generally characterized by discipline and economy, this extended version of “Sharkness” allows for plenty of organic exploration beyond the structure of the song. Lomo plays an immediate, unpretentious jazz/rock/funk hybrid that blows away the bloated fusion stereotype.
By Nick Bensen, Free City Media, May 2008
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