ALL THE PRETTY DAYS

The instrumental progressive rock quartet from Krakow, Poland are back with their second album. The debut Where Do You Want Ghosts to Reside (2020) received very positive reviews here, and it already strongly looks like All the Pretty Days will succeed equally well -- if not better -- and we'll certainly see it pretty high in the list of the Top Albums of the Year. I rated the debut with four stars which is how I rate this one too, since I think it's equally good and quite a lot of what was to be expected.

The 6-minute 'Hammill' is an impressive opening track. In the slow and delicate beginning a solitary piano is joined by guitar in a melody that reminds me of Peter Hammill's song 'A Louse Is Not a Home' on his fantastic third solo album The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage (1974). The composition of course continues as a purely individual and original piece. There's no doubt it pays hommage to the mentioned mr. Hammill but it does so very elegantly, capturing kindred spirit in the introspective emotional level without trying to reflect all sides of Hammill's wide- ranging art.

'Wiosna' means "spring" in Polish; the title may or may not also refer to a short-lived social-liberal and pro- European political party in Poland. At least there's some sense of tension in the composition. 'Romantik' is much more dynamic piece than the title would suggest. Yes, there's something romantic about it but never in a sentimental way. At one point the rhythm temporarily reminds me, probably deliberately, the famous jazz piece 'Take Five'. In the middle the piece soars gorgeously with bright piano sounds and an electric guitar solo. Wonderful introspective sensitivity in the melodies!

The band has a democratic overall approach to playing, by which I mean that each musician is equally strong on their instruments but also always ready to give space for others. The keyboards of Oskar Cenkier have an emphasis on piano with some classical music and chamber jazz nuances, guitarist Michał Chalota does his essential part of the musical textures and throws wonderful guitar solos to suitable places, and the excellent rhythm section of Andrew Shamanov and Oleksii Fedoriv is never overshadowed. Many bands especially at the early stage of their careers are guilty of showing off too much and loading each track full in the same way, resulting as an evenly thick and undynamic album. Fren avoided this already on their debut.

'Bajka' is a moody short piece among the longer ones and yet it has enough time in three minutes to grow in the emotional level. This piece is an important part of the album dynamics. Perhaps during the nearly 12-minute title track I was mildly losing my concentration, and for some reason I remain a bit colder to that one. The final piece 'Turque' exceeds to 24 minutes and contains an epic feeling full of both intensity and delicacy. Near the end the quartet adds a wordless choir chant.

Without any doubt this instrumental album will deeply impress many prog lovers who have grown into the genre with bands like King Crimson, Pink Floyd, VdGG and Camel. My real rating is 4½. By the way, the visual design of the CD could be better.