OCEANARIUM

Wow, this came as quite a surprise. I admit I wasn't terribly familiar with Deluge Grander prior to "Oceanarium", or Dan Britton's other projects, but that is now changing. First off, I love that this is all instrumental. More and more I'm gravitating to instrumental music, especially when it sounds like this. Musically this is a plethora of influences, from Mike Oldfield (Amarok style), Bo Hansson, King Crimson and Tony Banks (instrumental side), with scatterings of Canterbury and 60s spy music thrown in for good measure. All of this is in very small degree however, as the overall sound and approach is quite original, with original, beautiful melodies and intriguingly appealing chord changes. This is one of those albums where every note counts, lending itself to great writing, and if one doesn't like a particular section, 15 seconds later it will be different. I love that, as the music keeps changing and morphing, and never grows tiresome. 77 minutes of music. And not a bit of filler!