The Local Record Round-Up early Winter 1999, Part II
" It was about a year ago that we received O'Reilly's demo, which we saw as 'audacious'. As 25-cent words go, this one's kind of sissy, but it describes well the idea of a solo bass record in general and O'Reilly's unwillingness to play it safe. Four of the songs from the earlier submission are included, including the beautiful 'Gabrielle' (now elevated to opening-cut status and rightfully so) and 'The Chaos of Law' which almost sounds as if it could have been played on an acoustic six-string rather than a bass.
As we mentioned when reviewing this demo, this is the kind of record that other musicians will listen to intently, because it is something of a virtuoso performance. There are times, as on 'Sailing Towards Acidron', when O'Reilly sounds like more than one person, and he is in the sense that he's looping certain bass lines, then playing other parts over them. Then there's 'Etude #2 in Dminor', which is played live in the studio. Whichever way he chooses to proceed, O'Reilly succeeds in painting some rich aural pictures. As gimmicky as the three-part 'Jacques Cousteau' sounds (and it's the only one of the ten songs that is), it makes you see through your ears.
No, this isn't mass audience music. It is, however, interesting to sit and pick at. I keep hearing different things every time I listen, and that is one measure of an artist's success."
Bennie Green, FACE Magazine
