SURREAL

The galaxy collectors

With Surreal Erik Norlander has clearly tried to make an album in the same style as 2010's The Galactic Collective. The main difference is that while The Galactic Collective was an album of re-recorded instrumentals from throughout Norlander's career (including some compositions he first developed with Rocket Scientists and Lana Lane), Surreal is an album of original material. Another notable difference between the two is that Surreal includes one vocal track (featuring Lane Lane on lead vocals) while The Galactic Collective was completely instrumental.

Though I find Surreal thoroughly enjoyable I do also think that it offers few surprises and feels a little bit like a more-of-the-same release in light of Norlander's past output. If, like me, you admire Norlander's great playing skills and amazing sounds then you will most probably enjoy this one as well, but in my opinion it does not quite reach the quality of his best efforts. In particular, Surreal is not as good as The Galactic Collective and my recommendation is therefore to start with that album and also the live companion, the stunning Live In Gettysburg DVD.

What I hope will follow now is another live release similar to the otherworldly Live In Gettysburg but including material from the present album as well as instrumental performances of further Lana Lane and Rocket Scientists tracks.

US composer and musician Erik NORLANDER is a well know name in the progressive rock scene, as a member of the US band Rocket Scientists, for his tenure in John Payne's Asia, to a lesser extent as being a part of the Roswell Six project, but perhaps most of all for a solo career that has been ongoing for more than 20 years. "Surreal" is his latest studio album, and was released through his and his wife Lana Lane's label Think Tank Media in the summer of 2016.

Instrumental progressive rock albums may not be a staple diet for all fans of progressive rock, but for those who enjoy such productions in general and the ones honing in on symphonic progressive rock in particular, Erik Norlander's most recent studio recording should be met with a statement of satisfactory by the greater majority of that crowd. A solid album through and through, perhaps a bit safe and sound in terms of style and performance, but it's still a pleasurable experience to encounter craftsmen using their expertise and experience in creating the kind of material they are best at producing.