HOPE

The album starts with We're Off You Know. Rather jazzy and pop sounding with a little hint of psychedelism. I say this is a good starter for this album. It adds a little quirky aspect to their sound that I really like. Feels like something from the mid 60s. Super fun start.

Next is Madman, which is more like a 180 from the first track. Pretty spooky, electronic, and new wave like. The vocals remind me of Peter Gabriel, and more electronic and experimental type sound gives it a haunting sound. Their sound is clearly wide ranging and seemingly ahead of its time.

Next up is Around The Universe in Eighty Days. I really love this track. Super symphonic and joyous. Reminds me a lot of Genesis or even Neo Prog bands like IQ or Anubis. I also love how it goes into a different direction than the last two tracks, being less poppy and goes for a more stylized sound, which I appreciate a lot. I appreciate my bands trying new things and using their music to experiment. This is the first real track I adore, and honestly right now, I am fairly hooked.

The next track is even better, being Long Live Politzania. The first half of the song is an orchestrated arrangement with that kinda creepy new wave sound from the second track while the second half has a more poppy sound while still keeping the orchestral arrangements going. With being 9 minutes, it's super proggy and amazing. I could not get enough of it, especially with the smaller bits and pieces of monologues and instrumentation. It goes a long way and makes every second feel worthwhile, and I just love it for that.

Next track is The Loneliest of Creatures. A lot more folk like, and gives me a ton of vibes from A Trick Of The Tail by Genesis. In fact, this whole album feels like some kind of Genesis tribute of sorts, with the arrangements feeling straight from their albums, but of course with a different, more pop-like style. Cannot deny, this song is super fun, and a treat to go through.

Next up is Prelude, a orchestral + rock arrangement with zero vocals. It is rather fun to go through. It goes super solid from minute to minute, and utilizes the sound found from the previous tracks to really elevate itself to a new core. I also love the ending of the song, how it just goes super hard and rocking about. I have been saying this a lot, but this is a fun song from a very fun album. You can clearly feel their enjoyment when making these songs.

Next up is So Said The Lighthouse Keeper. My first thought was some kinda tribute to Van Der Graaf Generator, specifically the song A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers, but now it's very much its own thing. It's a sorta mix between the first two tracks, being pop-like but also very creepy and sinister sounding, plus that guitar. I swear the guitar playing is almost heavy metal-like. It is super cool and I just love it to death.

Lastly is Hope, which I gotta say might be the weakest track here. While it is beautiful and it builds to a good end payoff, it's kinda forgettable to me, and pales in comparison with every other track on this album. It's not bad, but I cannot say I ever really enjoyed it as much as I did with every other song here. Still good, just not as good as I want it to be.

So I really like this album. Again, super fun and super enjoyable. It is a well worthwhile album that wastes no time being an enjoyable romp through great pop songs with a proggy and symphonic flair. Definitely one I'd check out if I were you and never heard of this album.

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