CINÉMA DU VIEUX CARTIER

Red Sand are a good six albums into their career now, and that's the sort of point where you really expect a band to have developed their own identity. On the evidence of Cinema du Vieux Cartier, however, Red Sand are no closer to doing this than they were on their debut album: they're still essentially in the business of mimicing the achievements of neo-prog bands past (particularly Fish-era Marillion and World-era Pendragon). It's a pleasant listen, but it lacks distinctive character and offers no compelling reason to give Red Sand any special attention in preference to any other reasonably competent neo-prog outfit.