THE LOST ART OF TIME TRAVEL

Presto Ballet is a very retro sounding band that makes you think you are listening to a classic rock album from the seventies. There are many influences here that all shine including Kansas, Deep Purple, and some Yes. What comes out of these influences is an album that brings on feelings of nostalgia even though it came out just a year ago. There is some great music on display here. I especially love the opening track, "The Mind Machine", which comes at you quickly and never stops. The opening sounds like classic Kansas and the vocalist's style sounds like some kind of hybrid between all the classic rock singers of the seventies. I love the instrumental section where the keys come in and play a quick jazzy riff before the whole band comes in and every musician is playing at top speed. It is amazing and makes for a very fun song.

The second track is "Thieves" which starts slowly with a big keyboard before the guitar comes in and then the drums, and we are on our way for our second adventure of the album. This is a great follow up track to "The Mind Machine" and features some great organ and keyboard work. It isn't quite the same powerhouse as the opening track, but it is still a great track and keeps the same high energy level from the first track. There is a great keyboard solo in the middle as the rest of the band chugs along at a high pace, it is awesome! "You're Alive" is a simple song mostly with just acoustic guitar and vocals. I find this song disappointing and repetitive, especially in comparison to the songs immediately before and after it. It is like a poor man's version of "I've Seen All Good People".

"One Tragedy at a Time" is the highlight of the album (along with "The Mind Machine"). It starts out with some Jon Anderson type vocalizing before the whole band kicks off for an amazing introduction to the song. This song has it all; great harmony vocals, wonderful organ, great guitar playing, a thumping bass, and tasteful drumming. It is an awesome combination that leads to a masterpiece of a song. There are a lot of Yes references here such as the vocals and the atmopheric section on the middle of the song that brings to mind "Close to the Edge". "I'm Blind" starts out similar to "You're Alive" with mainly acoustic guitar and vocals. It is slightly more interesting than "You're Alive", especially once the electric guitar kicks in, but it is still dissapointing in comparison to the previous track. "Easy Tomorrow" starts off promising with a high energy opening section but doesn't seem to go anywhere, which is unfortunate. "Haze" is actually a pretty boring song to my ears and an unfortunate way to end the album.

The frustration I have with this album is that it contains three amazing tracks, and four mediocre ones. One of the things I value most in an album is consistency, and this album has real consistency problems. When its good, its really good. I really was excited for the album when "The Mind Machine" came on, but I can't get myself excited over almost half of the album. I feel that this album is about equivalently good to their debut album and deserves 3 stars. It is good, but the mediocre tracks drag it down some.