THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS

This is a more accessible Spock's Beard album compared to the other albums they have written. It still contains bombastic and proggy moments, and 3 songs are epics. What makes this album easy to digest are the melodies. Also, this album is not derivative like the others.

The Good Don't Last is the best of the 3 epics, it is memorable, enjoyable, and does not sound forced like 'Flow'. "The Radiant Is" section of it is just too good to miss. It has a beautiful chord progression and hauunting vocals. The short tracks are very good. They sound a little more mainstream, but have progressive elements. June is the best song of the album. It has good lyrics, a mastery of vocal harmonies with phenomenal melodies that makes you sing-along, and of course, a Nice musical arrangement. The acoustic guitar is very pretty, and the jumpy bass line in the second half is brilliant. The other epics: Flow doesn't flow well, and the other epic is not very exciting all the way (but it has a great moment in the first half).

My Grade : C+