HOLOGRAM

1. "Two Way Mirror" (5:32) Prog metal lite fuzzy three-chord rock opening over which Sel Balamir joins in with his voice mixed a little too far back in the mix (especially too far back when there is this kind of un boring, repetitive music as the foundation). There are moments of Steven Wilson- (or Sanguine Hum)-like beauty or magic, but overall this is just too much milk toast. (8.6/10)

2. "Sweet Perfume" (6:22) trying to go back to Black Sabbath? It's kind of hard with the Joff Winks/Sanguine Hum effect on Sel's pretty voice. Attempts at some microtonal guitar sounds with occasional/intermittent high-pitch guitar flourishes make this interesting, but the Sabbath-like chord progressions and walls of fuzzy sound mire this a swimmer trying to swim through the mud. In the end of the fifth minute the guitar mud disappears and we're left with a very cool Porcupine Tree-like finish. (8.7/10)

3. "Hologram" (6:51) What it might sound like if you took Focus' Eff Elbers song, "Orion," and put it on a RUSH rhythm track and then let Joff Winks sing over it. (13.125/15)

4. "Tundra" (3:52) such a simple, endlessly repetitive song construct. What is Sel even singing about?(8.5/10)

5. "Let Me Drive" (7:04) again, the music constructed here is so incredibly simplistic that I question Sel and Matt's allegiance to the Progressive Rock world that got them here. Maybe Sel just wants to be a writer of pop songs? (13/15)

6. "Gargantuan (Part 1)" (6:49) Very Steven Wilson-like without the musical/compositional complexity of some of Steven's more sophisticated stuff, more on the simplistic pop-oriented side of his more recent releases. (13.125/15)

Total Time 36:30

I don't know what happened to these guys, but they suck at short songs. I think, like Joff Winks and the Antique Seeking Nuns guys over in Oxford when they turned Sanguine Hum, Sel and friends decided they wanted to be lyrics-oriented songwriters more than prog rockers.

C+/3.5 stars; a possible addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you like the direction Steven Wilson has taken in recent years.