I MOVE

I have only just recently picked up this album having heard some mp3 samples and it has completely blown me away. Since I bought this album I have bought at least another 30 by various artists but I start freaking out if I go more than a day without hearing it again. There is so much in this album in terms of different styles, variety of influences, etc. that even after 20+ listens I still hear something different and new on every new listen. To me this is what new progressive rock has to be all about if it is going to come anywhere near its former glories. That is - taking on all the influences from 35+ years of progressive rock history but bringing new ideas from other musical styles into the mix to create something fresh and original. (Sounds simple but there is a lot of recent progressive rock which sounds like little more than clumsy re-hashing of what we have all heard before - which kind of makes the "progressive" label somewhat redundant.) The exceptional standard of musicianship and songwriting skills doesn't do them any harm either! I was particularly taken with the bass-playing - some very interesting and innovative lines on many tracks - and also the keyboards - particularly some of the acoustic piano-playing - some of which was reminiscent of no less than Keith Emerson. To my ears it really doesn't get much better than this.