THE GARDEN

I truly enjoyed this release by Unitopia from the first listen. There's an intriguing mix of new and old-school prog, an occasional burst of metal, and even a jazz flourish. This is a band brimming with inspiration and very imaginative songwriting with lots of interesting fills and runs. I don't really see the comparisons to Yes or Flower Kings. I consider this really rather fresh work, whereas Flower Kings can be a little "hit or miss" with alot of the experimentation they employ. While I don't see Unitopia as necessarily "playing it safe" or sticking with a formulaic sound of any kind, there is a familiarity about them that just begs constant re-listens. All phases of the music are superb: songwriting is crisp and imaginative without being overly abstract or "artsy", the musicians are all very competent without being "flashy" or "showy". In fact, all stay within the bounds of the base melody of phrasing of each song. But it's the flourishes and nuances that make this band so intriguing.

I'm highly impressed by this, their second release, and anxiously await their third. Overall 4.5 stars.