TIME AND A WORD

No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed (4:47) Perhaps the meatiest hook of any song I have ever listened to, god those strings give me the chills every time. The rest of the song is pretty good as well. As far as album structure goes, it was definitely a smart decision to put this at the beginning. 8/10

Then (5:42) This song starts off somewhat slow but eventually builds up to a jazzalicious climax. Really great song overall, and I appreciated what orchestra brought to this song. A very solid 8/10

Everydays (6:05) Kind of the same song as "Then" musically, starting off very slow and then building to a climax with a nice blend of prog and orchestra. This is the stronger of the two in my opinion, and despite their sameness, I appreciate them both on this album. A very solid 8/10

Sweet Dreams (3:48) A bit poppy for my tastes but not a bad song whatsoever. 6/10, though it is closer to a 7/10

The Prophet (6:32) The album thus far has been prog with orchestral elements, however this song flips that around and is mainly driven by the orchestral parts. The opening section with the strings is really beautiful and its a really terrific song overall. A solid 8/10

Clear Days (2:04) Short and sweet, but certainly packs a punch. Probably my favorite track on the album, Anderson really flexes his vocal abilities against a beautifully arranged orchestral composition. At only two minutes long, it certainly doesn't overstay its welcome. 9/10

Astral Traveller (5:50) Probably my least favorite track after "Sweet Dreams," which isn't to say this is a bad track at all. Airs on the poppy side but also does a lot of interesting things musically. 7/10, closer to an 8/10

Time and a Word (4:31) A song that I originally didn't care much for, but with each listen I find more and more to appreciate. The track feels very conclusive, which makes it the best song on the album to wrap things up. 8/10

Overall Thoughts For a sophomore album, this is really impressive! Considering there was only 1 song that was under a 6/10, it is consistently good, something that is quite characteristic of the band. I understand that there was some tension between the producer and the bandmates about using an orchestra in parts that were originally composed for the guitar/keyboards... but I frankly don't care! Lots of reviews I have read seem to be hung up about this and take the side of the bandmates, but I couldn't disagree more. The orchestra added a lot to the album, and is something that I wish the band utilized more in their future works.

Weighted average of 7.7/10, though I will have to give it an 8/10 overall, as this was an album greater than the sum of its parts.