Review Summary: Often time the most obscure of artists can sneak up on you and blow you out of the water. Often times you wonder why these artists are obscure to begin with. Kaddisfly is one of those bands
Kaddisfly, now known as Water & Bodies, formed in 2001 and have progressed significantly since then. 2003's <i>Did You Know People Can Fly?</i> showed great potential, but left no staying power. 2005's <i>Buy Our Intention; We'll Buy You A Unicorn</i> was a much more improved effort, showcasing catching songs scattered throughout the record, but consistency lacked and the record failed to leave an imprint on the listener. Then came 2007's <i>Set Sail The Prairie</i> which Kaddisfly used all the potential they had at hand, and used it to the fullest extent.
From start to finish Set Sail The Prairie lays out originality, catchiness, experimentation and extremely strong instrumentation which blends extremely well vocalist Chris Ruff. Lyrically brilliance is best shown by the track Waves, in which Chris recites lyrics starting with letter a through w, until the bridge kicks in. Empire, which strengths lie in the instrumentation, starts quietly slowly but surely building up to the catchiest track on the album. Snowflakes which clocks in at just about eight minutes long, impresses in all aspects of the bands talents, without boring the listener, including the heaviest (in the vein of Fair To Midland) track on the album. Chris isn't afraid to hit high notes, and although he is no Anthony Green, he executes well throughout the album, with very few to no slip ups.
A concept album, representing the seasons, and the two solstices, the album flows perfectly from start to finish, providing a certain vibe for the listener as the album progresses unlike any other i've had the pleasure of hearing. Songwriting is arguably the most important part of <i>Set Sail The Prarie</i>, avoiding the typical "verse chorus verse" in a bulk of the tracks and opting for a different direction, none of which fails. The first half of the record is captivating to say the least, drawing your undivided attention, not ceasing to amaze as the record progresses into it's softer but brilliant second half.
Overall <i>Set Sail The Prarie</i> is amongst one of the most overlooked albums of the past decade, and could've very easily received the proper attention had promotion been better (besides band stickers placed at random throughout the set of FX's It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia). The album in it's entirety is nearly flawless in it's execution, creating an underground progressive rock masterpiece. Unfortunately the band disbanded shortly after the release of this album, before reforming as Water & Bodies. which has yet to come close to any of Kaddisfly's work.
