Based on his past recordings, at first blush one was expecting a no edge musical experience somewhat similar to Steiner’s label mate Bernward Koch. There is a certain element of truth to that expectation but as soon as the disc loaded this was the first indication that this was going to be a unique listening experience. With only five tracks present, the shortest track runs no less than nine minutes suggesting that Steiner was in an adventurous mood.
While Momentum opens with the elegant and attractive “Fill the Sky,” the immediate observation was the openness of the high quality production as well as the optimistic moving musical experience. “Fill the Sky” will have you floating in the stratosphere as the keyboards, guitar and light orchestration collide gently allowing you to feel like you can reach for the stars. The album is bookended by the equally impressive “Epiphany” whose light but constant percussion drives the song that uses its entire eleven minute plus musical frame to build and then gently bring us to a breathy conclusion. Add the three additional tracks found in between and clearly there is no filler, making the results on Momentum striking.
Unlike his previous recording Into Forever, though Momentum has some meditative qualities, it does not have the minimalistic qualities of its predecessor. With impressive creations between the opener and closer, Frank Steiner, Jr. has presented his listeners with clearly his most remarkable recording to date. Momentum, while not momentous, is still highly impressive and has sleeper hit of 2015 written all over it.