ENDLESS WAY FROM YOU

4.5 stars. I ended my review of their debut by saying I couldn't wait to see what they come up with next, and while it took 6 years I have to say it was worth the wait. They have dropped to a trio with the bass player leaving and we have a new drummer. The other two Vladimir and Sergey are both multi-instrumentalists who both compose and play acoustic guitar, keyboards and bass. Vlad adds electric guitar while Sergey adds vocals and flute. We have three guests adding timpani, vibes, xylophone, oboe and bassoon. They don't come into play until a half hour into the album. There's quite a lot of soloing flute, organ and guitar on this record.

This is sophisticated and classy with the concert flute and overall sound so when they go deep, powerful or avant man it stands out and is such a contrast. This album had my full attention all last week, very intrigued with this one especially that Zeuhl inspired stuff like they had on the debut, and it's those Zeuhl sections where the vocals appear. Just so well done bringing ESKATON to mind. And while not everything here is in my wheelhouse I just can't help but be impressed. And how about that album cover! Come on I just am so into it and the whole package of this 2019 recording. I like how they give a quote from The Truman Show to end the liner notes saying "And in case we don't see ya, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!".

I have a top three but this is a very consistent album which I live for. I was actually surprised when I came on the site here and saw this record is 74 minutes long. They list the tracks on the cd but not times. And the time always flew by. The opener "Cycles" is over 14 minutes long and the longest. What a way to start and it starts slow with acoustic guitar, flute and atmosphere. Beautiful as the organ joins in before the tempo picks up with drums. Pleasant stuff then a change as bass and piano lead the way. More of a rock mode before 7 minutes with the guitar and flute soloing over top. Love that bass 8 minutes in followed by some Canterbury organ. Yes! That distorted organ bringing that Canterbury sound will show up on and off throughout this album. Mellotron 10 minutes in and it turns dark. Amazing! Check out the guitar before 12 minutes.

Quite the ride. But then so is my next top three "The Reality You Can't Stop Dreaming" at almost 13 1/2 minutes. Bassoon to start. What? Drums and piano join in followed by bass and it all sounds so good. The tempo picks up as the guitar arrives then it turns avant. Mellotron and a calm 5 minutes in along with bassoon then it builds. Chunky bass here as they seem to jam. The final top three is "The Whistler Shrill" at 8 minutes. Flute to start and it's melancholic before acoustic guitar and bassoon join in. It kicks in pretty hard around 3 minutes and the tempo picks up a minute after that with the guitar and piano leading the way. The bass is huge here then flute joins in before the Zeuhl vocals and sound take over at 5 1/2 minutes. Come on! There is another Zeuhl appearance late on the track called "Ascension" the only other place we have vocals. The weakest tune for me is "Muralidaran" but I have to mention that Canterbury vibe on "Quest Of The Kingfisher" another top track with some darkness in it. The closer has samples of waves to open and close it and is well done.

Congrats to the band for such a beautiful album and I love that this is a band who have their own sound. This is clear now after two studio records. Highly recommended.