THE LEMMINGS WERE PUSHED

One of the pleasures of listening to progressive rock is the discovery of music that truly progresses, both within the piece, between pieces and between releases. A particular track might even end as it started, taking a listener on a vast aural journey along the way. On rare occasions, such as throughout Mind Gallery's debut, we appear to be stuck on a 5 second repeat sequence played out over 5-10 minutes, at which point we are extricated only to plunge back into yet another seemingly infinite loop.

I have tried to get into this CD numerous times over the nearly 15 years it has been in my possession. I always start off thinking that I misjudged the material and wasn't attentive enough. This is partly because the first track, "Into the Light", is the best, but mostly because the production is a monument to the digital age, and it all just sounds so good, for a bit. I am not saying there is no progression happening, well, actually I am saying that. We do have variations on a theme and some instrumental prowess on display, but all the variations come and go without really extending the theme or bringing it to another level. Mind Gallery reminds me of groups like the Celtic rock band Gwendal from France in the sense that they seem to be great fans of minimalism but have forgotten that part of the movement is in its understatement. For physical headbanging fans prefer metal, and if they want a moral to be drilled into them they go for songs with lyrics.

Mind Gallery also reminds me of a vastly superior current Canadian group "Talisma", who play that jangly vaguely Crimson-esque style but do so with a great deal more panache. Two different ways of handling the circular motifs, one a monumental failure, the other an equally resounding achievement. I could try to find a way to bump the rating up to 2 stars, but it would not be fair to the lemmings who, if they were listening to Mind Gallery at the time, would have welcomed the push.