ROBERT SVILPA

A work clocking at over 70 minutes,''The sound of thoughts'' seems to cover the whole spectrum of Progressive/Art Rock music,sounding like a compilation of tracks than a tight release.Robert throws any possible style in the mixer,ranging from Prog Metal,Symphonic Rock and Psychedelic Prog to complex Fusion,Alternative Rock and even Lounge Jazz.And while the separate tracks are more than just OK,the whole effort is far from consistent.Svilpa's work on guitars and keyboards is varied and decent to say the least: heavy riffing, complex breaks, spacey synths, keyboard acrobatics along with diverse influences from PINK FLOYD and KING CRIMSON to DREAM THEATER and PORCUPINE TREE.And his vocals are in a good level,though far from anything trully special.Compositions are also in a decent level with nice solos,good instrumental parts and a very rich sound.But the problem is always there: the album is almost impossible to follow all the way through with every track differing from the previous so much,you think you listen to a different artist all the time.

Hard to rate this one.All tracks are quite nice,but the whole package as a flow is not.Robert should work on a couple of tightly-connected and -related styles to come through the demanding prog world,for his work on ''The sound of thoughts'' is one of the most unbalanced albums I've ever heard.Still the good material in here makes it worthwhile for die-hard prog fans...2.5 stars.

Svilpa states a number of influences on his webpages, ranging from acts like Opeth and Tool to artists like Mike Oldfield and Marillion. And this latest effort of his is pretty diversiefied in stylistic expressions as well, although the overall feel and mood ultimately places it in the more accessible part of the art rock universe.

On the first half of the album in particular the guitarwork often takes on qualities similar to Rush, backed by keyboards from the Neo-prog school and more vintage sounding organ themes. At times leaning towards progressive metal in expression, while other passages comes closer to art pop territories in sound.

As the album evolves the compositions tends to become more mellow in nature though, gentler escapades where clear cut melodies courtesy of clean or acoustic guitars backed by relatively lush keyboards, synths and the aforementioned organ is the name of the game. Some darker sequences appears from time to time, a few but distinct eerie moods are created, but by and large the second half of this venture is a pretty gentle affair.

Svilpa is a talented composer, able to cover several different styles of music. But the subtle details that will allow his productions to make a really grand impression are still lacking at this point in time. While most of the tracks, in particular in the second half of this affair, will appeal to those fond of the gentler, melodic aspect of the art rock universe, I don't see this album appealing to many beyond that circle. A vocal delivery that tends to be on the weak side and compositions slightly too predictable and not quite managing to create the strong moods needed to overcome that slight weakness is the main reason for me not quite warming to this affair. Many good tracks by all means, but not many good enough to really stand out as strong tracks of the ilk that makes me want to push the repeat button immideatly.

All in all a promising second effort, and a concept album to be sought out by those looking for melodic art rock who don't mind a few excursions into somewhat harder territories.