POWER OF THREE

Rarely have I heard Christian Rock as clean, polished, and proggy as this. (Neal Morse is the runaway leader in this genre, in my opinion.) Despite lots of styles and themes of other artists from the 70s and 80s being emulated here, this is a surprisingly engaging and refreshing album of solid classic rock-inspired Neo Prog.

1. "Living for a Better Day" (7:47) 1980s glam rock with bands like SAGA and a little bit of ICEHOUSE coming to mind with this one. Nice sound with lots of melodic hooks coming from individual instruments, chords, vocals, and lyrics. Solid drumming, great keyboard support in a PETER GABRIEL way, standard 1980s electric guitar power chords, and Michael Sadler or Ira Davies-like vocals. (I later found that the lead singer performing on this track was, in fact, the one and only Michael Sadler!) This is eminently listenable--even haunting me enough to draw me back for repeated visits. (14/15)

2. "I Hear I See" (6:53) despite the more-overtly Christian lyrics, the music and presentation continue to establish this band as more proggy and more polished than 99.9% of the Christian rock I've heard. Great sound engineering. Not quite as dynamic as the opener, this is still great, engaging music, with well-balanced, professional performances from all involved--even the lyricist. David Bradley Mau is such a strong, confident singer--so like the vocal "gods" of the 1980s. A very solid, enjoyable song. (13.5/15)

3. "Prelude" (2:31) here the electric guitarist and keyboard wizard get a chance to shine a bit while setting us up for the next (though, in fact, the two songs seem totally different and distinct from one another). (4.25/5)

4. "The Razor's Edge" (4:57) here the lead vocal duties are handed over to drummer Bruce Gaetke. He's good but when compared to it's like comparing Grand Funk Railroad's DON BREWER "We're an American Band") with Mark Farner ("Closer to Home [I'm Your Captain]"). (8.5/10)

5. "Steve's Song" (3:59) beautiful little instrumental with cool fretless bass chord play and piano. Almost a EBERHARD WEBER sound and feel here. I love to just let myself float through this one. (8.75/10)

6. "Time to Wonder Why" (5:39) this one reminds me of modern IQ--sounds, chord structure, all of it! Also, it has a very plaintive Peter Nicholls-like vocal performance--all of it spawned from Tony Banks' work on Duke. A few elements don't quite gel as well as previous songs (drums, fretless bass, and reverbed vocal "choir" feel a bit incongruous.) Plus, there's no big climax or finish or lyrical reveal. Though covered by a beautiful vocal, the song refuses to make a statement. (8.33/10)

7. "The Great Divide" (6:09) the heavier, melodic-metal side of the band coming out. This could be Grand Funk, Blue Öyster Cult, Ted Nugent/Damn Yankees, or even ZZ Top. Nice background vocalise, keyboard play, and soloing in the instrumental mid-section. I can't pinpoint it, but there is something missing from the feel of this song: as if the band had to play it too many times before it got the "best" take and were drained of their enthusiasm for it, only finishing it by rote commitment. (8.667/10)

8. "Digital Us" (6:20) cool floating soundscape that takes us back to the ICEHOUSE feel of the album's opener. Man, this vocalist is so talented! David Bradley Mau makes very note, every phrase, every slurry seem so effortless and natural. Nice guitar and keyboard performances. (8.75/10)

Total Time 44:15

While this album is a sonic gem, filled with as perfectly engineered sound and mixes as one could hope for, and blessed with an amazingly gifted lead singer in David Bradley Mau, some of the songs fail to reach the heights of surprise and excitement that one hopes for (especially in a prog album). Still, as mentioned above, this may be the most pleasing, engaging prog-0riented Christian rock album I've ever heard. Kudos to the band. Now I have to go back and listen to their previous albums!

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.