THE UNDERFALL YARD

This album has a lot of elements going it's way. Lush sounds, great production and balance, wonderful singers, great grooves, complex rhythms, and shows it off really well. Every track goes in a pretty new direction and gives us a great Spock's Beard-esque symphonic rock experience.

The fact that I so aptly compared it to another band, however, really is its biggest downfall.

This album fails to really innovate anything. Most every sound on the album could be traced to someone else fairly easily, and it shows. I hear Spock's Beard synth, Kamelot-like vocals, Genesis organ drones?. the list goes on and on. It sounds like it could just be any other unknown album by so many symphonic bands. This brings the inspiration level down to about 0.

Nonetheless, all the elements were expertly produced and that also shows. It gains three stars as a valiant effort.