CIRRUS BAY

A Step Into Elsewhere is Cirrus Bay's second album but the first one which they really stand by - their official website discounts the debut The Slipping of a Day as a grab-bag of various musical ideas developed over time. It seems that the core band members Bill Gillham and Sharra Acle really firmed up their ideas about what they actually wanted to do with this project in the meantime, and they decided to go for fairly straight-down-the-line neo-prog in a Genesis- influenced style with a few folkier elements creeping in thanks to Bill's use of mandolin and recorder. Sharra's vocals are quite nice in a mildly generic "woman in a prog band singing in a style not really much like Anne Haslam but vaguely intended to remind us of Haslam" way, and the release benefits from some interesting compositions. Not brilliant, but not half bad if you're into this particular style of neo-prog.

The third Cirrus Bay is most welcome, a lovely release of beautiful melodies and somewhat complex arrangements and not far from their last release, 'A Step Into Elsewhere'. Like that album, it is the first and last songs that are the true classics, rooted in the 70s tradition of artists such as Camel, Anthony Phillips, Steve Hackett and Renaissance, with occasional lapses into something almost Canterbury-sections that are quite complex and beautiful at the same time, examples being the instrumental sections of 'Across The Cobblestones', the albums dynamic closer, and the curious instrumental 'Gathering Clouds'. Half of this album is the best music Cirrus Bay has released, and half is lesser than anything on 'A Step Into Elsewhere', in my opinion, notably 'Boundaries', while having some great ideas and moments, has some drawbacks, such as the vocal effects, and 'Wanderlust', which is heartwrenchingly beautiful during the mid section of the song, but the conclusion could have been more dynamic. Still overall a great album, one of my favorites for the year, and probably as original as 'symph' can be (the heading of neo-prog is inaccurate, and probably earned over the weaknesses of their debut album). Favorite songs: Across The Cobblestones, Circles and Seasons, Gathering Clouds and Me & The Wind.

Edit: after many listens, I have upgraded to 5 stars. 'Circles and Seasons' is just breathtaking.

With just a couple of reviews for this album Cirrus Bay obviously hasn't made a real breakthrough so far. And that's strange because we're talking about high quality prog with this band. First resemblance I notice is to Glass Hammer mainly caused by the female vocals. But I also hear a touch of Thieves Kitchen although an immediate additional remark will have to be made there that Thieves Kitchen likes to play the dissonant style whilst Cirrus Bay plays the 100% harmonic melodic sort of music. Another feature is the laid back mellotron you can hear all the way through. All instruments are handled by skilled musicians by the way.

And this harmonic music is of the soothing kind. If you want to be enchanted for almost an hour this disc is very recommended. It's not highly original or challenging prog but more like wonderful music with a touch of "inventive composition". And since I'm a sucker for this kind of prog I can only give a high rating for A Step into Elsewhere. Not a masterpiece but an excellent addition for most prog collections for sure.

Cirrus Bay has released their new album Whimsical Weather! To start with this is an album which needs repeated listening's since it is intricate in it's artistic musical design. Cirrus Bay is known for it's progressive style of music much like early Genesis or Renaissance. That is still true with this 3rd commercial release. Among my favorite tracks are Wanderlust, Circles and Seasons, and Me And The Wind. Me and the Wind has a hint of Anthony Phillips in it's flow. I also enjoyed Gathering Clouds which is an instrumental piece. Cirrus Bay has come of age with this new album. It is longer than their previous album coming in at just over an hour. There is one thing I would have liked to see again and that is the use of saxophone in their music. It was featured in their first album A Slipping Of A Day. It would have added a bit more dimension to the production. I also want to praise the whole CD artwork and packaging....it is stunning and fits the concept of this album. If you like progressive rock with it's different chord changes and surprises then don't miss out on Cirrus Bay's new offering. Great job Bill Gillham and the Cirrus Bay members.

With so many of the big names in prog releasing cd this year, it would be easy for this little gem to get lost in the shuffle, and yet musically this is as good or better than any of them, not a perfect album, but a quiet masterpiece all the same.

The album begins in classic symphonic tradition with the beautiful 'Circles and Seasons', an 11 minute melodic romp that probably surpasses anything from their first two albums. This song features some great vocal harmonies, amazing chord progressions and beautiful melodies that overall hearkens a bit of Renaissance, Genesis and PFM, but is mostly pretty original for symph. The Hackettesque lead over mellotron swells in the outro is sublime.

'Boundaries' follows, and I'm still digesting this one. Complex, and all over the place, and a right contrast to the pretty 'Wanderlust', with its beautiful vocal section followed by an upbeat instrumental section reminds me of Genesis' 'Inside and Out' in its layout.

'Awake Forever' is the only short track, but has a magical quality one only seems to hear in prog, even if they are doing a short song. A very endearing track, in spite of its shortness.

'Gathering Clouds' is the show-stopper though. This 7 minute instrumental sounds like a cross between Kerry Minnear and Anthony Phillips on acid, and sounds like progressive music that has actually progressed, without losing the stellar melodic content, while still being incredibly complex.

'Me and the Wind' is much different, sounding warm and summery, with a feel of summer soon to end. Some nice Hammond work here, as well as vocal harmonies. The instrumental section has a lot to offer.

Like 'A Step Into Elsewhere', 'Whimsical Weather' concludes with a 'One For The Vine' like magnum opus. 'Across the Cobblestones' is equal to 'Zenobia', the best track on 'Elsewhere', and has that feel, with those killer chord progressions and haunting melodies. Brilliant. A melody lover's paradise.

Hard to complete with all the great new big name releases this year, but up there with the best of them, in its own quiet way, is this lovely album, with some of the most heartwrenching melodies I've heard in years.

Cirrus Bay is a US duo that relies on a rather well travelled prog road, a pastoral, meandering symphonic highway that features the multi-instrumentalist talents of Bill Gillham, who shines on guitar and keys and Mark Blasco who holds down the bass and the drums. The Renaissance mould of heavenly female lead vocals is the main drawing point, so any hints of Annie Haslam are well-founded, as both Sharra Acle and Anisha Gillham supply some wondrous vocalizing. This means that it will take quite a few spins before this one soaks in. The opening 13 minute 'Serenity in a Nutshell' sets to define their style right from the get go with plenty of acoustic guitar driven interventions that harkens back to Ant Phillips-era Genesis, carpeted by some deft keyboard sonics that supply flute- like timbres that challenge the senses. The raging lead guitar outro is amiably intense, catching you somewhat off guard in a most satisfying manner. 'Out of the Cold' is more immediate, a slight country feel due to the twangy guitars (with a little slide work to boot) which to this reviewer sounds a tad hokey but that's my bias talking again and it's a short track anyway. Cirrus Bay is way more interesting when the tone becomes serious or even somber like on 'the Exposure of Truth', a piece that combines breezy airs and strange odd sweeps during its 9 minute run. The brash 'Walking In Shadows' gets heavy and its delicious, way moodier and the rough guitar makes it raucous in a good way. You would swear hearing an indie band demo, but the prog elements know how to come to the fore. A superb axe solo kills this one off. Love this track. No two tracks are similar up to now, the weird 'The Secret Country' tickles the edges of dissonance in its simplest form, mostly keyboard driven but they sound a little too plastic to make a huge impact, again its at least brief. The monstrous 'Zenobia' finishes this recording, a 16 minute symphonic exploration that relives the opener in style, this one even closer to the Genesis/Renaissance dynamics than ever, the radiant vocals almost jazzy in a way, lazing nicely amid the synth driven clouds. The bass /lead guitar parallels are impressive; the explosive mid-section first provides accordion-like tones that come well invited and then evolves into a full lead blowout that is staggering. More please!. A ragtime piano does wonders as well, playful bunch!

In the end, it must be said that there is definite talent here but leaves a sense of under accomplishment, sort of a 'could have been even better' feel that will not disappear with repeated listens. A darker production would have helped immeasurably as it's a tad too pristine and at times, even robotic. 3.5 cloudy inlets

Cirrus Bay's "The Slipping Of A Day" has been out now for a couple (2008) of years. I was fortunate enough to be a part of making this album with Bill Gillham. I have known Bill for well over twenty years and we have worked on many different music projects on and off over those years. With this album Bill had a vision to bring his style of progressive rock finally into the public mainstream. The album took a few years to put together. What was acomplished turned out to be really quite good. While the first third of the album does suffer from some studio over dubbing problems (My vocals were overdubbed with Bills vocals) the rest of the album is great! Bill composed all of the music and lyrics for The Slipping Of A Day. The length of the CD is about 77 minutes. The two songs that I actually sing on the album are Slipping and I Can Only Wonder along with Sharra Acle on both tracks. Both Sharra Acle and Anisha Gillham play a large part in giving Cirrus Bay it's sound. The music is in the vein of perhaps 70's style Genesis, Camel or Renaissance. Sharra has an almost Annie Haslam style voice which really lifts the songs up.

But don't let that 70's style moniker fool you. Cirrus Bay is today's style of progressive music! If you enjoy progressive music I am sure you won't be disappointed!

Bill has a second album out entitled A Step Into Elsewhere which came out last (2009) year. It also has been getting rave reviews. Please check out Cirrus Bay's MySpace site for more information on both upcoming Cirrus Bay albums and also information on Bill's solo material. I want to thank all of Cirrus Bay's members for their hard work in putting this album together.

I also have my own site on Myspace ( check out Alex Brighenti) with my solo work. Please drop by and visit.

Thanks Alex Brighenti

Cirrus Bay´s debut release shows a band that was still trying to find their style and personality. So if yo happened to know the band throught their excellent second album A Step Into Elsewhere, be prepared. The CD here is kind of a collection of tentative songs, most of them in a folkish and light jazz way. Not that they are bad per se, but clearly they are mostly miles away from the symphonic rock they would succesfully produce just one year after The Slipping Of A Day. There are some real nice melodies and it is obvious that all involved are skilled and versatile musicians, able to play just about everything. But the songwriting here lacks focus, maturity and direction.

What bugs me the most about this CD is the fact that Sharra Acle´s vocals are so underused. Alex Brighenti´s voice isn´t bad, but it is crystal clear that Acle´s vocals are way superior in every aspect. It is no wonder that this mistake was not repeated in their sophmore work. The vocals harmonies are not the best either, they simply sound boring. There are some instrumental tracks, but those are sounding more like unfinished stuff in need of reworking and flashing up.

Not that all is lost, though. The second half of the album has some hidden gems like Through Stone Walls and Slipping, both fine symphonic prog stuff that certainly are kind of blueprints for their next release. Not surprisingly they both feature majestic keys and Hackett-like guitars (still Acle´s vocals would be much more fitting on the latter). And Beyond The Blue Horizon is a beautiful jazzy ballad that - finally! - gives Sharra Acle a chance to show how her vocal prowness can improve a song.

Conclusion: if you want to get some prog stuff here, go straight to the seventh song on. You´ll find some nice things among others not much so. A tentative album, really a bit of hit and miss affair. They did make some progress in a very short time after it. But clearly The Slipping Of A Day is for collectors, fans and completionists only. Two stars.

After reading Brufordfreak´s enthusiastic review of this album (and the high ratings others gave it), I just knew I had to have it. Besides, the group has a female singer and being a sucker for anything that reminds me of Renaissance, I really like girl singing in prog music. Well, A Step Into Elsewhere is definitly an interesting and exciting CD. It´s Cirrus Bay´s second album and it was released last year. And I must say that while I´m not really that overwhelmed by it as some colleagues here are, I have to say it is still quite impressive and powerful.

The music of Cirrus Bay is a curious mix: think of Jane Relf (Renaissance, Illusion), backed by musicians highly influenced by Steve Hackett and Tony Banks, plus a jazzy rhythm section. That´s the picture I have after listening to this record. The sound is definitly progressive, a bit retro, with plenty of british folk (although they are really from the USA) and jazz bits throughout the whole CD. The main man behind all this is multi instrumentist Bill Gillham, who plays just about everything on this record, except the drums. And he does quite a great job here considering the complex themes and lush arrangements that have tons of keyboards orchestrations and fine guitar lines (both acoustic and electric). Yes is another reference in some parts. These guys really love 70´s prog!

Of course the highlight of this album is Sharra Acle´s beautiful vocals. She has a great voice and a lot of emotion and technique in her delivering. While the songwriting here is definitly not totally developed as far as I can see, it is still very strong and shows great promise. All tracks are well crafted and the overall quality of them ranges from very good to excellent with no fillers to be found anywhere. In fact, after some spins I thought this CD was very short, but at 54 minutes, it is average time for a new act. I guess the music is so captavating you just keep longing for more.

Production is top notch and the cover art is also very well done.

Conclusion: excellent addition to any prog music colletion. If you like 70´s symphonic prog musis with very good female vocals, then this is a must have. I´m really looking forward to hear their next works. Rating: somewhere between 4 and 4,5 stars. Highly recommended.

I've just come into full awareness of this wonderful album of beautiful, uplifing music. As a real lover of female vocalists--and RENAISSANCE/ANNIE HASLAM in particular--this group comes as quite a refreshing reward. IONA, MOSTLY AUTUMN, THE GATHERING, PURE REASON REVOLUTION, and THE REASONING have all been teases. Hello world! This is CIRRUS BAY! Like previous reviewers, this group's excellent song structures and instrumentation choices remind me of a GENESIS-RENAISSANCE mix--or, rather, what might have been if Annie had been invited to step in once Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett had left Genesis. The song structures are very similar to the Wind and Wuthering and And Then There Were Three era--which produced beautiful music that was then diminished (IMO) by weak-to-weird-to-downright-awful lyrics. The songs (aside from the AYREON-sounding "Walking in Shadows") sound like collaborations and performances from TONY BANKS and MIKE RUTHERFORD.

1. "Serenity in a Nutshell." The album begins with its best song, a near flawless epic. Crashing in with thick waves of heavy mellotron and bass pedals, the song suddenly transitions into a much more pastoral piece with acoustic guitar arppegios and recorder, before our stellar vocalist enters. And surprise: There are two lovely voices harmonizing with each other (I wish they'd do more of this on the rest of the album for this is in fact one of the elements that makes this song stand so much higher above the others?as great as they are!) so many key and chord and tempo changes that all work--they all serve to suck the listener into prog bliss--like Ulysses strapped to the mast listening to the song of the Sirens. This may be the song they were singing/playing!!! I love the multiple guitar strumming and alternating acoustic and electric leads combining RENAISSANCE's "Can You Hear Me?" and end of "Cinema Show" between the 5:28 and 7:25 marks. Amazing! Then those amazing vocal harmonies! A masterpiece of progressive rock music for all times! 10/10

2. "Out of the Cold" begins with a definite Mike Rutherford electric guitar solo over some of Tony's finest chord progressions and organ playing. The vocals enter during a particularly straightforward "poppy" section before a Lamb Lies Down on Broadway organ bridge at the 2:15 mark brings me back to prog heaven. Love this organ sound! The Lamb similarities continue with the song's progression into a 30-second instrumental section beginning at the 3:10 mark. (Too bad it's not Phil's drumming! He was amazing!) Love the slide guitar and 12-string work--and mandolin strumming--just before the slowed-down outro. 8/10

3. "The Exposure of Truth" took the longest for me to like because of the many chord, key and tempo changes. Also, the vocals on this one felt a little less "stable"--i.e. because they are so isolated above the music there are times when my ear can't help but question her pitch accuracy. But then, I remember sometimes wondering the same thing about Annie H. in the earlier (less treated/filtered) Renaissance days. A great song of which Tony Banks should be quite proud! I love the (oh-so-rare) upbeat, "happy" feel of this (and many of this album's) song(s). 8/10

4. "Walking in Shadows" sounds so ARJEN LUCASSEN! Maybe the 'best song he never wrote'! An awesome song whose heaviness gives the album a little bit better 'fullness' or 'balance.' 8/10

5. "The Secret Country" sounds to me more like a 1970's collaboration between ANTHONY PHILLIPS (Private Parts and Pieces "Tibetan Yak Music") and RICK WAKEMAN (Six Wives of Henry VIII). Great song except for the odd sounding 'lonely' electric guitar solo near the 2:45 mark. 8/10

6. "Zenobia" is definitely "One for the Vine, Part Two." And what a beautiful song was the first! This one does not shame or disparage the first. Some actual heart-wrenching chord changes--so beautiful! Love the single strums of the flanged acoustic guitar at the 4:40 mark, followed by the nylon string solo over marching piano and snare 5:35 to 6:20. Then: Woah! Steve Hackett tries to make an appearance, only to find himself confronted by a brief duel with Tony at the 7:20 mark--which is then interrupted by a brief vocal before everyone backs into true GENESIS support of a classic HACKETT solo at the from the 8:10 to 9:12 marks. 9:42 sees Tony's turn--AAAHHHH! I'm in GENESIS heaven! And with that angelic yet-sultry voice in the mix as well! I've died and gone to heaven! And the finale escalates into a truly Genesis-like melodramatic ending. 8/10

I'm going to give this album five stars for its consistent level of beauty and for the gift of finally merging the sounds and styles of my two favorite 70s bands. "Step into Elsewhere" is so right! I will not hesitate to say that this is truly a masterpiece of Neo-Prog. (I apologize to Bill, Anisha, Sharra, Mark and Alex for all of the GENESIS and RENAISSANCE eferences/credits. Marvelous work you guys! More, please. LOTS more!)

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Re-evaluation October, 2010.

Upon repeated listenings over the last few months, I have decided that my initial exuberance was a little over blown. The album lacks musically--in depth, variety, and complexity. As Tarcisio says, the band will be interesting to follow to see how they 'mature.' Great sound, great instrumental choices, great music, great vocalist; their compositional skill needs more development--more risk-taking (better drumming and more sophisticated rhythmic choices). Adjusted down to four stars.