Inspired by Mark Chagall’s painting of the same name, The Green Violinist is a project from musician Vincent Dufresne (Sioban) that was created from depression and frustration. Dufresne wanted to make a concept album that spoke for the voiceless and gave hope to the hopeless. The result is this unconventional album that has traces of familiarity but passion all its own.

More Thrill & Never-ending Bliss is an album that defies categorization. At one point I had assumed I had just thrown on a contemporary rock album, then an album immersed in Americana, only to be thrown for a loop when an electronic heart began to beat at the center of yet another diverse track. At times like this, as a music critic, you just have to throw the rule book out the window and allow the music to guide you to whatever destination it has planned.

Each song is enveloped by some emotional direction. The Great Scapegoat Seeking is about frustration and anger. A nod to the disenfranchised who remain powerless in the face of the larger more powerful entities who commit the sins but lay the blame on the ones beneath them. It is protest and it is a call to arms.

Velvet Road is a sad tune that is reminiscent of the grunge era (think Alice In Chains) and plays poetically on it’s message. Then it is followed by a kind of upbeat tune that brings us back to the mid-80’s. A surprising turn no doubt, but with its own charm.

Don’t Worry, Be Sad. Is it a nod to the Bobby McFarlane tune Don’t Worry Be Happy? A more realistic view point for those that understand happiness and depression are not controlled by a switch that can easily be flipped with positive reinforcement?

I was pretty impressed with the album. It doesn’t just rest on one type of sound. Instead it shapes its lyrical with a soundtrack that heightens the messages found within. From the symphonic blast of Any Words You Say Won’t Be Enough, to the hellish undertones of anguish laying beneath the music on Scapegoat. It’s a sure sign that the album was a passion project instead of simply another album being force fed into the mainstream. Kudos for that. If you enjoy stepping off the beaten track every once in awhile I highly suggest.