DESPITE GUARDIAN ANGELS

When I came across the debut album from this Canadian band I was immediately extremely interested to see that the guitarist is none other than Michel St-P're from Mystery. I have been racking my brains but can't think of another band he has played with, and he is here as a full member, not a guest, so it shows just how invested he is in this. Huis ('home doors' in French, and 'house' in Dutch) was formed by Pascal Lapierre and Michel Joncas in 2009, after a trip to Holland. They soon found other musicians to make this band a reality, and as well as Michel it features William Regnier and Sylvain Desc'teaux. Musically here we have an album that is straddling the worlds of neo-prog and melodic rock, which undoubtedly will upset a lot of purists, but when it comes to listening to music for sheer pleasure then this ticks the boxes for me.

William and Michel J keep the bottom end good and tight, while Pascal is a strong keyboard player who keeps to the role mostly of providing strong rhythmic accompaniment with the occasional flourish, but the standouts here are singer Sylvain, who has a wonderful melodic voice and Michel S. His guitarwork is the strand that pulls this album together, always fluid and emotional, and these elements combined with great songs means that this is an album that non- progheads will enjoy as much as those who think that 7/8 is much more than just a mathematical fraction. This is a very strong debut indeed, and I look forward to the next one with great interest. www.unicorndigital.net