LIGHTHOUSE

Iamthemorning

Crossover Prog

4.03 | 380 ratings

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aapatsos
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

In Lighthouse, Iamthemorning bet on emotion and get a tremendous return on investment.

The duo excels in building a technically mature, yet heartfelt album that displays unequivocal emotional intelligence. The almost fragile vocals of Marjana Semkina paint each song with angelic, ethereal melodies that seem able to seduce even the most predisposed listener. Her ability to switch from light-hearted jazzy moods to dark folk lullabies captures the imagination. Gleb Kolyadin delivers classical music piano sessions filtered through jazz, folk and progressive rock with fluctuations between cinematic and musical landscapes. Think of a combination of Lebowksi's 'Cinematic' album, prog-lite versions of Gryphon's 'Red Queen to Gryphon Three' and Anglagard's 'Hybris' with vocals by Kate Bush, Tori Amos and (a female version of) Peter Hammill.

And there is more to it: grand pianos and chants would make tracks like ''Sleeping Pills'' perfect for film scores and dark-cabaret moments in ''Libretto Horror'' may bring memories of Devil Doll. The rhythm section of Colin Edwin and Gavin Harrison provides enough boost to 'progify' ''Too Many Years'' and ''Harmony'' (pleasant Marillion/Riverside influence on the guitars) and Mariusz Duda accompanies Marjana in bringing a haunting melody to the title track. The band quite comfortably escape the chamber prog idiom with a range of moods, instruments and ideas.

Even the French-cinema-soundtrack-like ''Chalk and Coal'' has its moments (unfortunate pick for a single in my opinion) in an album where weak moments are hard to find. I personally enjoy better the more lyrical themes (e.g. ''Belighted'', ''I Came Before the Water'') on the album but also embrace its diversity. Last but not least, the beautiful lyrics tie perfectly with the artwork and the storytelling throughout.

4+ stars

aapatsos | 4/5 | 2016-6-4

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