RUDE POLITICS

Castanarc's second album finds their sound evolving significantly over their debut. The major change is in the use of keyboards and synthesisers on the part of David Powell and Steve Beighton, which are often much more in tune with the sounds and textures of synthpop than classic prog, allowing Rick Burns' atmospheric guitar work and the occasional keyboard flourish to keep the neo-prog side of the band's sound going. The end result is an intriguing hybrid sound - soft, calming, even at points romantic - which suggests the sort of combination of prog chops and cutting-edge sounds which would pay off in spades for Porcupine Tree a few short years later. Not for neo-prog purists, but a very interesting album nonetheless.