Hour of the Shipwreck is a group out of the Los Angeles area, and they do a genre-defying mix of prog rock, alternative (whatever that means these days), symphonic, and soft rock. The nearest I can come to describing them would be 16th-century experimental-classical-Goth-art rock, which fits. Sort of. Their premiere CD, The Hour Is Upon Us, contains seven cuts and totals out at 45:18. For simplicity, I’ll refer to the group as Shipwreck from here on.

Shipwreck is a very ambitious group in many ways, and rightfully so. No slouches in this group of musicians. More on them below.

The opening of The Hour Is Upon Us, put me in mind of the dramatic scene in an action/adventure movie. After the action, or during a break in the action, the protagonist looks around him, the camera panning in slo-mo for effect, and the scene is one of bodies and mayhem, whether a gladiator in an arena or an act of terrorist carnage. The background chorale adds depth and emotion. In this scene, the hero looks around and is overcome by emotion, while at the same time steeling himself internally to the coming, even more difficult task. And that’s just the first 13 seconds of this CD!

From there, it gets even better. Following the chorus, an acoustic guitar comes in quietly, and Richie Kohan, the lead singer and master wizard of the entire CD, follows, with a slight falsetto to his naturally high tenor. Then the drama and the intrigue march noisily in, emphasizing the hero’s resolve. The remainder of the opening cut, “The Chandelier Suite,” takes us on an indescribably wonderful musical journey.

This music is for dreaming, the dream being your choice, your cast, your plot. But whatever comes bubbling up from your brain, whether romantic, fantastical, a hero overcoming impossible odds, gory, or downright kinky, the music fits. Perfectly. Does this make sense? Probably not. But it does make damned good music, and damned good theater. The orchestration and chorus of the first cut of this CD put one in mind of the old, 1950s and early 1960s film epics, such as El Cid, or Ben Hur. Or in the modern era, Lord of the Rings, or The Chronicles of Narnia. The first two movies are markedly different than the second two, but the music would be complimentary to both.