OUT OF THIS WORLD

The exquisitely arpeggiated piano intro to the title track lets everybody know from the very beginning that this classic Dutch outfit is back, and in the best form. And not only the instrumental prowess is back with them, but also the melodies, the tasteful (and tasty) arrangements and that fine pop craftmanship delivering great songs.

Having said that, it doesn't mean that there's few or nothing for the prog ear in this album, on the contrary: the good melodies take off and reach great high in the interplay and in the always sensible vocals. And the best part is that this happens with each and every track, you don't have to digest a lot of fillers in order to find just a couple of listenable tracks. The whole album flows nicely in a high level of musicianship, it never leaves you just waiting to see if the next track can save the day.

As a sample of the more basic, song-oriented material, give a listen to the track 14 Cary. As for the more epic content, go for the opener, and the tracks 3 Under a Scar, 6 Critical Mass, & 13 A Winter's Tale. The closer, even when brief, is a great symphonic moment.

The Dutch melodic symphonic crossover group Kayak is going through a brilliant phase since founding member Ton Scherpenzeel reformed the group in 2018 with the record 'Seventeen'. The 'Live 2019' record showed the new band to be in a glorious form on stage (which I also witnessed myself in the city of Arnhem). Vocalist Bart Schwertmann is the best singer the band ever had (which is saying a lot) and master guitarist Marcel Singer is the ballsy counterweight to Ton Scherpenzeel's very melodic and classically influenced type of songwriting. On their latest record 'Out of this World' the band manages to bring some of that great podium flair to the record (something lacking on the rather flat sounding 'Seventeen' record). The production is quite good here. Kayak usually makes albums with a few strong progressive rock tracks and a string of lighter melodic pop rock songs and this album is no different. There are however a lot of great five-star progressive tracks here; 'Out of This World', 'Under a Scar', 'Kaja', 'Mystery', 'The Way She Said Goodbye', 'Critical Mass', 'Red Rag to a Bull' and 'A Writer's Tale' are all tracks fit among the best material of the band. Think of extended Kayak classics like 'Merlin', 'Icarus', 'Starlight Dancer' and 'Daphne'. The band uses some classic building blocks to make the sound typically 'Kayak'; the intelligent harmonic chords patterns by Scherpenzeel, the endless melodic lines in vocals and guitar, the interesting mood changes within songs and the band's recognizable 'light touch' to tie it all together. Sadly the album is also plagued by three out of place sounding pop songs on which guitarist Marcel Singor has lead vocals. As much as I adore his guitar playing, I just don't see how these songs fit on a Kayak album with their strong influences of Bowie and perhaps Sting. Other notable songs are 'One by One', a ballad sung by bass player Kristoffer Gildenlöw that could have been written by Trans-siberian Orchestra. The last songs 'Ship of Theseus' is sung by Ton Scherpenzeel himself and is actually a nice ending with a ghost ship theme and atmosphere. This album could have easily been Kayak's 21th century swansong and it would still have had a playing time of 50 minutes, but as it stands I can't give it more than four stars. 'Out of this World' does however offer some of the best symphonic progressive rock of 2021 and therefor comes as highly recommended to listeners of before-mentioned genres.

It is strange to think that soon we will be coming to Kayak's 50th anniversary, an achievement for any band. Of course, there have been multiple line-up changes over the years, plus the band has had breaks, but the current five-man line-up stands proudly when looking back over their achievements. Of course, at the heart of it is all is Ton Scherpenzeel (keyboards, lead & backing vocals), the founder who has kept it going all these years. Drummer Hans Eijkenaar joined in 2010 before leaving and then rejoining recently, while the others all joined when Ton reset the band after 2014's 'Cleopatra ' The Crown of Isis'. They are of course Bart Schwertmann (lead & backing vocals), Marcel Singor (guitar, lead & backing vocals) and Kristoffer Gildenl'w (bass, lead & backing vocals). Yes, there are a lot of singers on here, and while Schwertmann can be heard on most of the tracks, Marcel Singor takes lead on three, while Kristoffer Gildenl'w and Ton Scherpenzeel have one each. On top of that, drummer Hans Eijkenaar debuts as composer, working with Ton to write the music of 'Traitor's Gate' while the rest of the album was written by the band leader alone.

This is not a band using a name to get some publicity, but instead are showing they are standing on the shoulders of giants as they continue to thrive and deliver an album which is a delight from beginning to end. This is not some geriatric outfit with nothing to offer who are still surviving on loyalties built from music in the past, but have produced an album which is exciting, inventive, immediate and an awful lot of fun. There is a mix between different styles, some more commercial than others, and the result is something which any proghead will enjoy the very first time they play it and will continue to gain more as they repeat. There is some tasteful guitar here and there, while Ton is of course a wonderful in- demand keyboard player, here providing both swathes as backdrops or taking leads, while the drums set the foundation and of course multi-instrumentalist Gildenl'w is always there to add to some finesse.

It is a highly polished release, full of crossover elements which sees it bring in some pop as well as some symphonic, and it is nice to listen to an album which is just so easy to enjoy and not have to work at. Let's hope they have more in them yet as this is not the sound of a band ready to retire.

KAYAK is this Dutch brontosaurus group founded in 72; it takes you to progressive and symphonic lands such as ASIA, KAIPA, ARENA, ALAN PARSONS and QUEEN.

"Out of This World" for a major start, piano and grandiloquent, symphonic orchestration, MAY-style guitar, a sound unlike any other, twirling, a little AOR, a little on the best KANSAS; the superb voices on the singer of Martin BARRE, I read a musical diamond, I confirm; grandiloquent and majestic with choirs and strings, it starts strong. "Waiting" on an entry riff from CARS, airy and eclectic guitar, the voice on that of MAGIC PIE or BOWIE, a pop-rock ballad title from the 80's in the era of pop; the guitar pulls out the notes, tweaks them and leaves for another musical space. "Under a Scar" and the sound of QUEEN's plaintive guitar, a moment of music like a film unfolding in front of you; the strings get started, bring up the theme on the prog opera, that of the 70's of 'Phantom of The Paradise', the jousts of MEAT LOAF and QUEEN again; it's rhythmic just enough to make you sway your hips without forcing the neck of the femur; Bart's voice melts on this glamorous finale, full of emotion. "Kaja" for a musical break, an interlude with piano and spleen guitar that will make you melt; the second part with the solo which rises even higher, a symphonic anthem. "Mystery" with vocals in harmony, piano and vocals for a radio edit; a pop-folk song with sounds reminiscent of 'Love Is All' from afar for the symphonic part, a little ELO too. "Critical Mass" for the intro to The Exorcist, no but you believed it, bells in any case as an intro; it starts on JETHRO TULL for this voice, on FM rock, the enjoyable piano-guitar digression framed by the drums and the synths, the surly solo which hurtles down the notes; it's beautiful, fruity, airy; the following break on a romantic spleen which reminds us that we are indeed on prog lands here at the ARENA with a worked ending, take the lead. "As the Crow Flies" for a title that goes everywhere, drums and synths to the fore; a haunting groove track, a little TOTO behind it, a romantic bluesy tune for a soft COLLINS-style melody, to be taken as an interlude.

"The Way She Said Goodbye" short acoustic track, piano, guitar and synths to accompany the voice on an intense love story. "Traitor's Gate" for a spicy, energetic title eyeing the dynamics of TOTO just for the keyboards, an aerial pop solo. "Distance to Your Heart" surprises with the ELO intro with these progressive strings, a smoothly conducted 'Kashmir' bass and a beautiful and redundant melody, the Mayesque solo still resonates. "Red Rag to a Bull" for a concentrated title and concentrating prog in all its forms; from the intro to the rhythm, from the chorus to the sounds with reinforcements of solo synths on crystalline guitar notes, final stage in the distance then a small choir which leaves. "One by One" à la Leonard COHEN finally Kristoffer here for a song about our inevitable future end; simplicity of vocals, violins and emotion until the progressive movement pulling towards the starting anthem towards there! Country piano to digest. "A Writer's Tale" for the moment and monument of the album; majestic intro, pompous in the good sense of the word, strings, speaking guitars, expressive; the chorus, a folk beat, slides towards dancing choirs with Marcel's guitar and takes on a QUEEN-style rock opera, rhythm'n blues, then musical soundtracks of the 70's and 90's; from KANSAS, STYX, QUEEN, MEAT LOAF, from the grandiloquent KAYAK. "Cary" for a short burlesque interlude, BEATLES lineage on a plot on the accordion, bordering on folk and psychedelic. "Ship of Theseus" to close the album, Robert Wyatt-style voice, serious symphony on horns and guitar, a title which denotes by the musical rupture, a bit of the madness of BOWIE and the piano which tolls the death knell.