NATURAL INSTINCT

The recording orgasm for Steven McCabe continues during the summer of 94'.In July/August he recorded the seventh album under the Elegant Simplicity moniker at Propinquity Studios in Wakefield, followed by its mix and mastering at the fall of the year and the dawn of 1995.Entitled ''Natural instinct''. the album was originally released in cassette format, four years later it was offered by Proximity Records as a CD-R album and since 2006 one can track it down as a digital purchase.

While not dissimlar to the previous efforts, ''Natural instinct'' moves away from the long composing forms and here McBabe offers 12 short, all instrumental pieces of dense and well-crafted Progressive Rock with the CYAN and PENDRAGON influences being still apparent.Among the nervous synthesizer deliveries and the melodic guitar chops, McBabe is willing to throw a nice dose of organ moves, while the mood among the tracks ranges from emotional textures to rich, instrumental runs with plenty of rhythmic parts and shifting moments.The new album remains quite unoriginal regarding the style delivered, but the drum programming seems a bit improved and the level of compositions is quite decent with plenty of interesting ideas and moving passages.At times the music becomes very bombastic with full-blown synthesizers and pounding organs.The more laid-back and melodic tracks show again McBabe's love for the music of CAMEL with series of sensitive guitar solos mixed with atmospheric keyboards.

The tireless British composer keeps producing solid and consistent Progressive Rock, that will appeal to all fans of its classic timeline.Light symphonic references, vintage blinks and Neo Prog-inclined melodies are among the characteristics of another Elegant Simplicity work, that comes warmly recommended.