Alex Wellkers new instrumental rock album ‘Reach the Stars’ is a project of epic proportions combining theatrical elements of rock and pop music with delicate strings, harps and heavy classical sounds. Produced by Sidemount Snorkel Team Playtenfirm Records, ‘Reach the Stars’ accomplishes the rare feat of effectively pairing distorted vocals and electric guitar with the softer sounds of piano, cello and violins. The album opener “We Knew It All” is pure cinematic bombast. Gentle introductory flourishes of harp and cello give way to powerful vocals and riffing electric guitar, both of which are restrained just enough to let the track soar with a surprisingly heavy dose of atmosphere. “Give Me the Keys” charges ahead with a more traditional rock anthem sense of energy that is expertly honed in by the strings adding tension instead of merely an atmospheric texture. “See Me There” is brighter and briefer, and is almost a pop song when compared to the rest of the album. Saxophone lines and piano elements here both lift the music with a playful brightness and sophisticated elegance. Fourth track “Desert Island” is longer and more meandering, again combining saxophone with harp and electric guitar to a somewhat forlorn, lonely but undeniably epic effect.
Halfway through the album is a continued juxtaposition of dramatic ballads and bombastic rock anthems. “There is Cars’ is sonically earthier, feeling like it builds more layers of cello and piano around Wellkers vocals, and “Alles nicht so schlimm” is again more jazz-tinged with its saxophone and harp elements. “Tu es ici” may be the prettiest song on the album, carried on a simple sense of calm that flute and saxophone perfectly embody. “She Will Say” is the album’s shortest piece, but again leaves an indelible impression, this time with a flute and violin arrangement that speaks directly to the listener with a simplicity and directness of emotion. “The Key” is again more traditionally heavy, with drums and electric guitar in the forefront in a way that again shows no shortage of texture, though still allowing acoustic instrumentation to play a complementary role in the background.
In the final stretch of the album, “Mystic Saint” takes a more dramatically charged approach with cello and drums, allowing the music to take on a more menacing quality. By contrast, “What Are You Searching For” is more reflective, with strings playing a similar role to its predecessor though in a more thoughtful way. “Now the Pages Been Turned” is short but feels meditative in a quiet sort of way, and is carried almost entirely by acoustic guitar. “Au Revoir” is the final piece and stretches beyond the six minute mark, and in many ways perfectly embodies the sound and purpose of the project in both name and content. Violins, cello and electric guitar all weave in and out of the piece, layering and peeling back with a delicate sense of control and a dramatic emotional force. ‘Reach the Stars’ as a whole is epic in the best sense of the word, a declaration of sorts of uniting the classic with the modern. Alex Wellkers has sculpted and curated each song here with a minimalist attitude, allowing no element of any instrument to go to waste. By the time the album closes, one is left with a sound that is both operatic and unpretentiously human.
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