Canvas Solaris

In replacing guitarist/bassist Ben Simpkins, Southern math metallists Canvas Solaris have augmented themselves exponentially by adding three new members: Chris Rushing (guitars), Donnie Smith (analog synth) and Gael Pirlot (bass). The result is a more keyboard-driven musicality, beginning with opener "The Binaural Beat.” Not your typical Canvas, it sounds almost like ’80s new wave stars the Fixx. "Reflections Carried to Mirror” quickly snaps back to the band’s credo of ultra-tight chord progressions, multi-tempo passages and Opeth-like acoustic breaks. "Chromatic Dusk” builds upon that Opeth momentum with electronic drums and synth textures, while "Patterns Spiral into Swarm” shimmies into guitar noodling and Neil Peart-esque bells. "Heat Distortion Manifest” gives drummer Hunter Ginn space to explore kick drum stutter beats, fade-out cadences and astounding polyrhythms. The mellow "Photovoltaic” leans toward the heavier jazz sides of Liquid Tension Experiment and McGill/Manring/Stevens. Canvas Solaris have certainly succeeded in avoiding the line-up change jinx and have expanded their sound without wallowing in the Statesboro (Georgia) blues over the loss of Simpkins.