WOOLLI SECUNDUS

Apparently Ayres has much more written material than the tracks included in his ''Dreamoid'' debut.And that's because the following month he put his second work ''Woolli secundus'' on the bandcamp streaming and download lines.He stated that most of this stuff was composed around summer 2012.

I am afraid though that at least the first few pieces are horrible homestudio productions with the programmed sounds covering the natural ones, while Ayres was heading for some straighter rock parts during these cuts, mostly coming as an amalgam of THIN LIZZY, DIRE STRAITS and organ-washed Psych Rock, but the result has nothing to do with the lovely sound of these classic bands.Synthetic keyboards, sampled strings, awful drum programming and lack of deep, personal inspiration overpower any attempt on decent melodies by the British multi-instrumentalist.As the album unfolds things can only get better, albeit far from essential.The longer tracks show a return by Ayres to his progressive roots and display influences from CAMEL (smooth, melodic guitar plays and melodious textures) and PENDRAGON (semi-symphonic work on organ and synthesizer), while there are plenty of nice keyboard lines and dramatic overtones in his mainly instrumental pieces.There are even a couple of tracks with some sampled Mellotron and church organ for a more vintage listening experience, man, these pieces could have been really cool with a more professional production.The dull drumming parts remain steady, but the ideas have become more tight and intricate with plenty of grandiose moments.

An inconsistent release as a whole.Skip the first three pieces and focus on the later parts of this effort, which are likely to please fans of melodic, symphonic-oriented Progressive Rock...2.5 stars.