THE WORLD

Entering the 90s we find this band of Brits still refining their sound. Though their commitment to a NeoProg sound palette feels fairly solid, the "borrowing" of themes and styles from other 1980s pop bands is a bit surprising.

1. "Back In The Spotlight" (7:39) a surprisingly one-dimensional first with basically two synth wash chords and Flock of Seagulls rhythm guitar over straight time bass and drums. Part two is a little better, a little more 1980s Genesis like. (12.75/15)

2. "The Voyager" (12:15) looped sample of water flow with MIDIed marimba-bell synth open this one before dobro and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence-like computer MIDIed Japanese keyboard sound arpeggi enters. Guitars, acoustic, picked, and beautiful sustained elecric guitar notes enter before bass and drums and voice enter. Very pleasant, melodic vocal passage enters before moving into an okay chorus whereupon the song's full sound palette congeals and settles into place. Vocal bridge at the end of the fifth minute leads into a pretty instrumental passage in which "harmonica" solo introduces its own repetitive melody arpeggio. Vocals and whole band reenter. Nice drumming here. At the end of the seventh minute we move into a softer, more dream-like weave, which then moves into a very GENESIS Trick of the Tail/Wind & Wuthering-like passage over which Nick's plaintive lead guitar eventually starts to sing in a David Gilmour way. Nice solo: creative, engaging, and original--lasting well over a minute. No complex time signatures here, just solid, melodic NeoProg beauty. (23/25)

3. "Shane" (4:25) a little Pink Floyd foundation for an odd little poppy song here. Nice lead guitar work in the C section--even though it ends up being a near replication of David Gilmour's "Time" solo. The best song on the album. (8.5/10)

4. "Prayer" (5:21) the piano opening here made me think I was going to hear "Islands in the Stream"! The 80s ballad format surprises me as I thought these guys were supposed to be a prog band. The second section does amp things up a little, but then we return to the ballad motif: big let down. Another guitar solo with a familiar melody (Does Nick hear old familiar melodies while creating his solos?) (7.75/10)

5. "Queen Of Hearts" (21:46) (39/45) - a) Queen Of Hearts (8:18) sounds like a sappy 1980s hair band ballad using a GENESIS "There Must Be Some Misunderstanding" chord sequence and Tony Banks sound palette. It's pleasant enough--with a fair vocal performance. Nice impassioned 12-string Fish-era MARILLION section starting at 4:05--even down to the eventual keyboard sound choices and lyrical content. At the six-minute mark it seems to go wrong before a wailing STEVE ROTHERY-like guitar leads us into a powerful vocal section. Excellent guitar here--really sucks the listener in. Good parts, with some weaknesses but overall a good section. (18/20) - b) ... A Man Could Die Out Here ... (8:08) back into 1980s GENESIS territory--where they seem to be trying to extract some of Phil and Steve's magic from the 1970s but end up sounding Invisible Touch-era. Disappointing choices in sound and rhythm at the 2:45 mark--sounding a bit like yet-to-come Petri Walli KINGSTON WALL--and further diminished by odd Xanadu lyric, eventually contracts at the 5:00 mark into a more spacious Bar-do feeling section. When things re-amp up in the seventh minute the drum beat and Gilmour/"Run Like Hell" guitar rhythms carry us into another quasi-Reichian jazz section before handing it over to the last section. (13/15) - c) The Last Waltz (5:15) more 80s classic rock keyboards (computer electric piano and MIDIed other keyboard sounds) eventually lead into Nick's vocal. It's rather bland, even when choral vocals are used to back Nick's lead in the chorus. Very nostalgic lyric about dance hall days. At 3:15 there is a little bridge into a brief instrumental passage in which weird lyricon-"harmonica" is used for the lead solo instrument. This should have been a TOTO song. (8/10)

6. "And We'll Go Hunting Deer" (7:14) long synth intro is finally joined by guitar and electric piano in the second minute. But, still, we don't really get out of the atmospheric "interlude" phase until late in the third minute. The song that is established feels so much like Genesis' "Afterglow" (12.25/15)

Total Time: 58:59

B/four stars; an very nice addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially for a lover of NeoProg.