ENDGAME

I’m not a huge fan of neo-progressive music anyway, although bands like Marillion and IQ have given the genre a respectable name at least. And as a disclaimer I will note that this is the only album I’ve heard from Like Wendy, but my overall impression is that this is pretty pedestrian stuff. There seems to be intent here to fashion arrangements that flow in leisurely tempos like Pink Floyd and later clones such as RPWL, while at the same time employing neo traits such as highly synthesized accompaniment and sound effects as well as rather mundane lyrical topics. I would hope the band has more impressive work in their repertoire than this.

Based on the title and the fact they haven’t released anything since it seems this is the swan song for the group, and the pervasive lethargy in most of these tracks would suggest they didn’t put a whole lot of heart into making this album.

The opening “Mock Me”” and closing title track consume about a third of the album’s length and both wander along far longer than they really need to. “Radioactive Girl” is the most energetic track (relatively speaking), although this one hearkens back to the nineties and already sounds dated even though the album was only released a few years ago. “Seventeen” has a keyboard thread that almost comes off as piano jazz at times, and “Subs” combines synthesized noodling with some pretty decent keyboard riffs to mixed effect.

“Moria” is the other noteworthy tune, mostly thanks to a decent guitar passage and ‘tron that show sparks of interest but which are extinguished too quickly.

I can’t seem to get into this album or this band, and unless one of my kids picks up some of their other CDs I probably won’t spend much more time trying to. The band undoubtedly has its fans, but my ears hear a two star effort here and one that I wouldn’t particularly recommend to anyone except serious neo fans.

peace