THE INDEFINITE STATE OF MATTER

3.5 stars, really. Well, after a 5 year break, polish neo progger band Albion release this new album. It was very hard for me to write a review. I´ve been listening to this CD for months already and the initial feeling of disappointment still remains. I guess my expectations were just too high after the level of excellency this band achieved after Wabiac Cienie (2005) and Broken Hopes (2007). The group was always a personal kind of favorite of the new millenium since they were one of the few polish acts that didn´t fell for the alternative/indie rock trap that plagued so many former fine prog outfits from that country. So, after such a long time since their last studio offer, I was waiting for something at least in the same league as Broken Hopes. Did I expect too much?

No, don´t panic, they did not jump into the indie rock bandwagon. At least not just yet. They still make their fine brand of great neo prog that Polland was famous for during the 1990´s: sypmphonic, melodic, highly emotional, with great keys and brilliant guitar parts (echoes of Gilmour, Hackett and Rothery can be heard). They even have one of the most underated, but still fantastic female singer in the person of Katarzyna Sobkowicz-Malec However, the level of the songwriting on this new release did not exactly reach the quality of the two previous CDs. It is still good, but The Indefinite State of Matter seems to be keyboardsman Krzysztof Malec´s baby. He calls all the shots here and, believe it or not, Sobkowicz-Malec´s distinctive vocals, one fo the band´s best features are underused on this album. Let´s see: for such a short disc (only 47 minutes of music), two 10+minutes instrumental moments are a bit too much. Neither are that great either, and the closer, Fear, with its abstract textures and electronic treatment is definitly odd for their style. On the other hand all the other four tracks are excellent exemples of what they can do when they are playing as a whole band. Children Rhyme is definitly the highlight here, featuring one of Jerzy Antczak´s best guitar solos ever, powerful vocal lines and menacing keys. I should also point out that Antczak´s guitar playing is as strong and emotional as ever. He is one of Polland´s greatest, at least at the same level as the legendary Mirek Gill (Collage).

So, all in all, a very good CD. It is only unfortunate that for a band that had released such brilliant works before, a very good album still sounds like a disappontment. None of the new tracks reaches the heights of The Place (from Broken Hopes) for example. Onde again, maybe I was expecting too much. I liked it a lot, but after five long years, The Indefinite State Of Matter, with all its many qualities, should have been better.