WAR AND PEACE

This is an album that gives new meaning to the term "eclectic". A long time coming, Pandora Snail's debut manages to wonderfully blend stylings that include modernesque heavy prog and power prog, retro style organ, and variously neotraditional, neoclassical, and prog violin. It works better than that combination might suggest, fitting together without obvious stitches and creating a diverse and generally upbeat whole. Tracks like the almost epic length "James Pont" really bring the heavy, rock-out side to fruition, while "Dilemma" and its ilk put the organ often centre stage to maximum effect, and from there the violin shows its full worth on cuts including the concluding combo of the title track and "Satori", with the former showing for a moment the more dour yet beautiful and midbeat side of the optimistic band's repertoire. The band set out to loosely bring to mind distant and general images of war through instrumentals that don't so much pout or rage, and if it doesn't do that for you it probably will instead by turns relax and induce you to headbang; if it does, a whole unique thematic landscape should open up in your mind. A spectacular piece of work.