AVIARY

Anyone NOT into pop/pomp/prog should go away and read something else..NOW !! As this a about as good as it gets, when talking about pomprock/popprog !! The name of this wonder is: AVIARY...an American outfit, with master of supreme song- writing and singer de luxe, at the wheel :Brad Love. When you enter his world of pop pomp prog, you realise that this particular neck of the wood are/were indeed growing and blooming fresh of ideas,arrangements,songbuilding and sheer enthusiasm!! This is probably the BEST record ive ever heard of its kind!! You´ll hear hints of ...say... Sparks,Beatles,Valencia and many more....still its their own sound...vocals in beautiful layers , arrangements of songs and music de luxe....every song on this fabulous album is very very good...every note thought off...everything laid down with precious expertise! I dare you to mention ANY album that bares so many great songs/themes as this GEM!! This will knock you out of your pop/pomp/prog waters!! I wont mention any particular- song...as the are all great..this album is a whole!! So, what to do ? Well there are not much you CAN do...but..to buy this wonderfull cd....but do me a favour....pour yourself a favorite drink...sit back.....close your eyes....and LISTEN !!

And please.. fellow progreviewers, try this one....lets hear your opinion !!

P.s. Their next one is almost as fantastic as this one !!

Derivative is probably an overused term when discussing music, but in the case of Aviary it really seems to be appropriate. I have to admit to being one of the people who never heard of these guys back in the seventies when they were active. The songs on this debut release bring to mind so many other seventies AOR and prog-related bands I can’t believe there weren’t some liberties taken in putting these tracks together.

The opening “Soaring” for example could easily pass for ELO around the time they started replacing their string section with synthesizers, circa ‘Discovery’, although the tempo and keyboard passages sound like something Jeff Lynne would have put together around 1976 or so. “Anthem for the U.S.A” is even closer to a Lynne composition, and here the falsetto harmonizing male vocals are even more ELO- like. Lynne made a great next-generation Paul McCartney, and on this album Brad Love sounds like their younger second-cousin.

And the suspiciously familiar sounds don’t stop there. On “As Close as you can Get” Love manages a pretty decent Freddie Mercury imitation, but the musical accompaniment sounds more like the Buggles or maybe that “Turning Japanese” one-hit wonder the Vapors. And “Mystic Sharon” really seems like it should have belonged on the Don Was and Giorgio Moroder-produced “Electric Dreams” soundtrack alongside (once again) Jeff Lynne and Human League new-waver Philip Oakley. I loved that soundtrack by the way, but it didn’t exactly age well, and neither does this album.

“Feel the Heart” is one of those late-seventies tracks that starts to hint at the coming neo sound that became popular with bands like Saga and Asia – highly polished, heavily synthesized and just enough fluff to give the impression it’s more progressive than it really is. “Average Boy” is a pure new-wave number drenched with synthesizers and pompous, choppy fills and flourishes, plus a little more of that Lynne falsetto just for good measure.

The slow, introspective, flash-your-lighter-and-sway-with-the-music©® concert number comes with “I Will Hear”, and the band closes with another new-waver in “Maple Hall” that features affected vocals and a fairly danceable rhythm amid some pretty awkward and vapid vocals.

Sorry, but this isn’t a lost masterpiece or anything. It is kind of fun to listen to once or twice, mostly because it brings to mind an awful lot of music I grew up with that sounded a lot like this but was actually original and much better. The band would release a slightly more original and thus better album years later (after they broke up), but this one has all the makings of a marginal debut from a band that would have had more success trying to make a living as a touring cover band. For collectors only, although I’m not sure what type of collector would find this one appealing. Two stars.

peace

This US band is deeply rooted into some great bands of the seventies and plays a fresh and fun rock music.

Influences are plenty: guitar and vocals a la Queen for the opening track Soaring are such a pleasant way to start this album. Brad Love on the lead vocals has an excellent voice and performs in an outstanding way throughout this album. This song is excellent and is one of the highlight of this work.

If you are into an ELO ride, you can embark the Anthem For The USA while 10CC is just next door with Puddles. It holds the same craziness and clever arrangements (vocal + instrumental parts).

A combination of the both is noticeable during the enjoyable As Close As You Can Get. The melody is on the pop side but catchy and the vocals are again very well crafted. I am not saying that this is a great song, but it reminds me nicely two bands I have liked very much (and still do).

This album might sound outdated, but it should please anyone who is willing to refresh his memory and listen to unknown numbers which are truly attractive. Mystic Sharon is another jewel from this debut album.

One song is not on par: Feel The Heart which is AOR oriented, but overall this album holds more pleasant songs than average ones. If you like the bands that I have mentioned, you should have a good time while listening to this work. Add lots of synthesizers as well to get the whole picture.

A song as Average Boy is almost a mini-opera full of splendid vocals; it is really a performance but almost the whole album is of good value. It was a very good surprise when I listened to this album. Four stars.

That's not bad album. Strange thing is that I feel like listening pop music. After all these years when I was trying to avoid it, pop is striking back from rock point of view. And it's like "don't give in to the dark side of the rock Luke, fight with it.", well, at least little bit.

Music is pleasant, melodic. Contains nice guitar work. Yeah, especially guitar and vocal synchronization here is wonderful. So why I feel little bit ashamed when listening this ? Maybe that's not right. Just enjoying it would do better job. Anyway, rating will be between 3 and 4 stars, because this album deserves it.

Well, this problem with pop feeling is probably nonsense, in bio is said that they're pomp prog. As my brother said, music of Queen is melodic too. And after all, I'm the one who don't like death metal and distort guitar sounds, I should be glad for that. Maybe as this music is done is just another way how to approach prog music. Now I'm decided, four stars.

In fact, when listening some tracks, I have feelings as Freddie Mercury should sing in next moment.

EDIT: 3(-), sweeter than Moon Safari.

This album here really is over the top, in the pop/pomp/prog categories and is quite mad really. There are several bands thrown into the mix here and as mentioned Queen sure take up a big portion of the mix.Equal pqrts to Queen is definately City Boy with their bombastic sound and harmony vocals.Throw in some ELO ,10 CC and Styx and I would say it is a pretty good description of what you will get with this album. Musicians are very competent and are pulling this of in style.It really is a fun album to listen to,but you also really have to be in a special mood to listen to this. So if you can't get enough of City Boy, you must own this.

AVIARY "Same", certainly is an album capable to captivate a great segment of progressive rock fans. This effect is maybe due to the fact of although their music be very close to "pop" or even "glamour" rock in style of bands like 10CC, CITY BOY, STYX, QUEEN, they produce a high quality music and don't sound like a cheap copy of none of previous mentioned bands. Besides they are able to join a good dose of instrumental skill and a high energy sensation in all tracks. The influence of STYX can be perceived soon at the track 1 "Soaring" a "heavy ballad" with a much accentuate hard rock beat, a guitar solo with "sustained" notes and a vocal chorus, typical from Dennis De Young and cia. the track 2 " Anthem For The U.S.A." reminds me a lot CITY BOY. The track 3 " Puddles" stay in a half way between 10CC and Queen due the theatrical interpretation of theme. The track 4 " As Close As You Can Get " make impressed by the great Vocal similarity between Brad Love's vocal and Freddie Mercury. Another detachable tracks as; track 6 "Feel The Heart (Then You'll Be Mine Again) " close to STYX style and one of most progressive moments in the album, maybe the synthesizers intermissions, and finally the last track "Maple Hall" and their interesting bass arrangement. My rate is 4 stars !!!