LIGHTDARK

It is hard to begin to review this album because there are so many angles I could take. You can put this album into one of several categories - Progressive Art, Electronic (though there is lots of guitar and acoustic drums), or possibly Psychedelic/Space. This is not a bang your head album, it is a very thoughtful one. I am going to try to convey the feeling of the album by starting with the first track.

The first track about butterflies and children is there to set the tone and expectation of the album. It is the shortest piece on the album at 3:02 minutes and is keyboard based (synths and piano). It is quite nice and peaceful. It flows masterfully from moment to moment and has a lot of guts/heart to it. My personal feeling is that this album has what would be considered a perfect blend of keyboard, guitar, drums, bass, and vocals. Every tune on this album must have been carefully considered and worked over as the whole album flows flawlessly from beginning to end - not to mention the individual track's own personalities. Several tracks that didn't quite fit the flow were released on a downloadable CD titled Clouds (another recommended listen - my favorite: like the elephant. But I digress... There are many layers to this album and each listen I hear something different which draws my attention to a different direction. There are little nuances around every corner if you care to listen for them.

The second track places remained would be hit of this album if there was one. It is radio airtime friendly at 4:29 and is an excellent blend of keys, guitar, drums, and vocals. It is quite catchy and one of my favorites of the album.

The forth track from silence to noise is quite long 15:29 and probably the masterpiece of the recording. The keyboards, guitar and vocals are almost haunting. There are concepts and themes employed through the entire album. Consider the album title and song title when listening. This does not feel like a 15 minute song, it's actually goes by a lot quicker.

The fifth track someone starts to fade away features Tim Bowness (From NoMan fame). If I would say one thing, Tim and Nosound are a great match - just as Tim and Steven Wilson are. This is another excellent tune with another phenomenal guitar solo by Giancarlo.

The final and title track lightdark is another great example how the vocals are part of the music and not a separate entity placed on top of the music. The influence of David Gilmore/Pink Floyd is quite evident here. The guitar work could be mistaken for something off of Meddle (One of my all time favorite albums).

As a final note, I have a standard I measure a band by. Studio recordings can be hacked and engineered six ways to Sunday. The mark of a great band is if they can reproduce the music as good or BETTER when performing live. I had the privilege of seeing this band play a live gig and they pulled it off in spades (which is a very good thing). I deem this album and band worthy of the highest praise.

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