PHILHELMON

'The Final Frontier' is a great opening with some wonderful synth and guitar work in the early moments of the song. At around 5:30 'The Final Frontier' enters into a gorgeous instrumental passage that feels so clean and crisp you cannot help but find yourself bobbling along. 'How Wrong' opens up with weaving synths and clean vocals before about a minute in when the guitars begin to join in. On the whole, this song feels fairly poppy but not in a bad way, it is certainly very pleasant to listen to. Then, at 3:00 the song gets a bit of an ethnic feel before a lovely synth solo to end the song of. 'Dance the Night Away' is probably my least favorite track on the album, that isn't to say that it's bad, just that it rely's so much on vocals that instrumentation feels bland throughout, one of the poppier moments on the album.

I quite like the next song, 'In The Forest' which feature's Ky Fifer with some of his finest vocal work, singing in a way that is both evocative and controlled. at 3:08 the song goes into a lovely guitar solo that just sweeps the listener away. The synths overpower just a little bit too much at the start of 'You Never Look', luckily soon Fifer comes in with his wonderful voice and turns the song into a pleasant and light song that is certainly enjoyable, a nice synth solo at 1:55 keeps the song upbeat and fresh. 'Warchild' isn't my favorite song on the album, light and slow melodic rock that, although good, just overstays its welcome a bit too long for my liking.

'Civilization Number IX' also doesn't do too much for me, it has some great bass playing and keyboard work but the melody doesn't allow the song to grow into anything and instead, sits stagnant while interesting things occur in the background, but are never allowed to take control past the (albeit amazing) vocals. That being said, at 4:55 there is a great orchestral part that definitely ends the song on a very high note. I love the next song, 'Ulumka'an - Birds of Heaven' which is a refreshing folky break in the wall of synth that this album can, at times produce... The most gorgeous melody on the album, absolutely beautiful. 'Keep the Faith' is another great song with amazing buildup before reaching a wonderful crescendo at the end.

'How I Love My Ipad' is not the best song, the computerized vocals sounds cliche and the music seems dry and uninspired, not the best song on here. 'Golden Day's' is a nice song but isn't exactly memorable, a shame because there is some wonderful flute work in here. And finally, 'Enjoy it While it Lasts', what a song, what a way to end the album... Fantastic.

On the whole though, a great album, congratulations to Henk for this record. Consistently good music that feels wonderfully refreshing.

I give this 3.5/5 stars reluctantly rated down to 3, which is shame, because there are so many moments where this album surpasses simply being 'good' but, unfortunately, the album is just too uneven as far as quality goes.