IN OUR NATURE

Hidden Lands stand out on the pack on this debut album thanks to keyboardists Björn Westén and Hannes Ljunghall (who in addition to keyboard duties shifts over to guitar as well). From the start of opening number and not-quite-title track In My Nature, it's clear that Westén and Ljunghall are greatly inspired by the space-electronic stylings of the likes of Tangerine Dream, and this style adds an unusual and welcomely original spin to the neo-prog proceedings here.

Intriguingly, aside from drummer Gustav Nyber this album is essentially a reunion of the old Violent Silence lineup. Violent Silence themselves are, in fact, still a going concern - they've just unveiled the cover art for their new album on Facebook - although only Westén and Ljunghall are still in the lineup. The question of which is the original band and which is the side project is a puzzling one, but shouldn't distract you from the quality of music offered up here. Entertaining, though uninspiring vocals do drag it down at points.