Back in August 2008 I reviewed an album from a talented Frenchman called Alex Erhsam, the album was called djaz_dtox, you can read my review here. Jump to 2011 and Alex is back this time with a high energy fusion album called P.U.L.S.E. which in his case must be around the 200bpm mark judging by his playing! This album is not for the faint-hearted there are a lot of notes being played at high speed so it is quite fitting then that Alex has signed to Shredguy Records.
The album opens with a track called Proximity Triggered with a main riff that reminded me of Prashant Aswani, that smooth overdriven tone and funky dirty riff. In fact Alex has this smooth tone throughout the record something that the Fusion guys seem to love so much. Short Notice is another track with a funky overdriven rhythm guitar intro that has a little bit of a nod back to 80′s bands like Extreme but interspersed with jazz licks and lightning fast legato and hybrid picked phrases.
Alex takes the tempo down on the track Time Sensitive which at the halfway point is a nice time to give the listener a break from the overdriven guitars and instead you are presented with beautiful fretless bass and a unique clean rhythm guitar track, which almost has a piano-like character.
I think if you hear almost any track on this album you immediately know it is Alex Ehrsam he has a very distinctive character and the recurring pentatonic lick bends sort of become a trademark on this album that tie the tracks together.
If you’re a fusion fan check out a preview of P.U.L.S.E. over on Alex’s MySpace page or head over to Shredguy Records to purchase the CD.
