LAYERS

A Seattle-based multi-instrumentalist, Main was a member of the Northwest band Medusa in the 70's, playing next to Brian Phraner and Don Freeborn, who later formed Phreeworld, and Gordon Raphael, future piece of Sky Cries Mary.Later he played with the Midwest Rock'n'Roll band The Eddies, which lasted a couple of years.Main returned to Seattle and after some failed attempts to put up a regular band he got married and became a businnessman.The spark though was still there and he built his own digital studio, eventually releasing his first album ''Tracks'' in 2004, followed by ''Layers'' in 2005, for which he was helped by former bandmate Brian Phraner on bass and Bruce Jones on flute.

Main is no suprisingly influenced by the giant Prog bands of the 70's, coming up with a work of melodic Progressive Rock with an intense lyricism and light symphonic inspirations.His voice is quite colored but often he seems to sing a bit out of tune, while the music on ''Layers'' remains interesting all the way, albeit far from original.His soft guitar touch and the pair of more dramatic deliveries, the constant use of discreet organs and the retro-sounding moods of the album propose a vintage album, where he tries to combine his nostalgic roots with more modern ideas, these are the careful use of synthesizers and the decent drum programming of the album.The smoother tracks have a strong GENESIS/CAMEL vibe with acoustic passages and melodic parts, the more intense ones being highlighted by a strong YES inspiration with more complex themes and shifting offerings.It seems this work lacks a true sense of professionalism, but the love of Main for Progressive Rock led him to a quite decent release overall.

Patience and obsession finally rewarded Bruce Main with a good album within the fundamentals of Progressive Rock.Neither very professional nor personal work, but a warmly recommended album for anyone into melodic Progressive Rock with strong 70's hints.