THE MYSTERY OF THE COSMIC SORROW

"The Mystery Of The Cosmic Sorrow", the third album from Russian crossover prog band Eternal Wanderers in a few minutes returned me back to the time when I was much younger (and yes - the grass was greener). Bombastic tuneful songs with female vocals full of analog synths, long compositions combined of some very contrast parts without even try to connect them properly, ambitious double-CD format (for studio album)... It smells like eighties (not seventies though - lot of new age like arrangements and more-modern heavy guitars sound transfer the listener back to the time of later Camel and Caravan recordings).

It is not really easy to pin a genre tag to "The Mystery's..." music - eclectic mix of psychedelic rock, symphonic prog, electro-pop ( sometimes with note-by-note citation from extremely popular in 80s Latvian pop-electronics band Zodiaks), spacey new age effects, Pink Floydish guitar hordes, analog electronic effects (kind of popular on early stage of electronic music oscillators and generators) all in one used not at once, but in a form of sound miniatures,changing each other every few minutes.

On paper it probably looks like dangerous mix, but there are no even traces of chaos in band's music - somehow all this collection of (sometimes contrast) components are placed in order and sometimes balancing on the edge still sounds attractive.

That's true, no-one these days can be wondered by nice but obviously over-exploited tricks borrowed from rock golden funds but Eternal Wanderers doesn't sound as a cliche. Probably kind of aliens on modern days scene, they radiate idealistic positive optimism, they don't copy or pretend of "being prog-rockers". It looks they believe in what they are doing, and - what important as well - it looks they really enjoy playing their music.

Not the music for prog purists or those interested in innovations, this album is really enjoying listening for believers that time machine exists and bands like Caravan can make their grass look greener transferred right to nowadays.