THE GHOST OF HUMAN KINDNESS

This is the third album from Us and the third album I am listening to from them. I am approaching this band chronologically.

This is also their most openly melodic to this date. They still sounds like a crossbreed between Al Stewart and Marillion. I guess this is their sound and it is a good sound. Their music is not that technically complicated. The average song length is around eleven minutes, with two songs stretching out to almost twenty minutes.

Long song requires either ultra technical qualities (like Yes) and/or excellent melodies to really keep the interest up. Us is very good technically and superb when it comes to melodies. On this album, the melodies are backed up with excellent vocals, soaring majestic guitars and some really good keyboards. The majestic title track is a good example where several melody lines intertwines with each other to make perhaps their best song so far (after three albums). Another good song is Domes with it's brilliant guitar playing. The verses on Grand Canyon is a bit of a downer (too simplified), but saves itself at the end.

In short, this is one of the better Neo Prog albums out there from a band I am starting to really appreciate.

4 stars

With ''Eamon's day'' US finally seem to draw some attention.The album sold well and the they even performed live for just the second time on the Dutch festival Progfarm in 2003.However the band prefered to enter again their own ''B'SUS'' studios in February 2004 than tour on road, recording the material Jos Wernars wrote for an upcoming third release.The new album ''The Ghost of Human Kindness'' was privately presses the same year.

Here US follow the same receipt with ''Eamon's day'': Three long epics ranging from 14 to 20 minutes and two a bit shorter cuts at around 8 minutes, definitely enough time to fully develop your ideas.Apart from the album's structure, the sound has not changed dramatically either.The compositions follow their familiar Neo/Symphonic Rock matrix with some strong GENESIS and YES influences throughout, where more complex and grandiose electric parts meet often with soft acoustic passages along with Stephan Cristiaans' warm voice.The Wernars' duo-combination on keyboards and guitars remains the highly driving force of the quintet.The long HACKETT-ish impressive soloing along with the symphonic grandieur through Ernest's flashy keyboards and pianos are US' trademarks and please add the great and dynamic bass work of Jos in the vein of YES' CHRIS SQUIRE.The arrangements are very tight and well-crafted with a good alternation between softness, melody and a fair amount of complexity.The final eponymous track is propably the stand out piece of the album with some majestic melodies to be heard.

Another strong release by US, far from trully original as always, but close to the preferences of any devoted Symphonic Rock fan.Strongly recommended with a special appeal to fans of GENESIS, YES or even IQ...3.5 stars.