SILHOUETTE MOON

Vienna Circle's second release "Silhouette Moon" opens with a lovely sentimental piano melody and accompanying vocals, and it's immediately apparent that this is a beautifully crafted album with great production values.

I'll make special mention early of the gorgeous, dreamlike lead guitar that drifts across the album. As a guitarist I'm not only envious of the tone that's been created, but deeply appreciative of the phrasing and melodies as well.

It's also evident that this album abounds with fantastic vocal harmonies. When combined with the acoustic guitar and piano, there's an amazing texture created throughout the 49 minute duration.

Brothers Jack and Paul Davis give us a nice mixture of shorter tracks and longer pieces on "Silhouette Moon". Of the latter variety, "Dreams Presage" is the epic of the album. The tempo lifts and there's a great sense of tension brought to bear by the combination of electric guitar and synth. There's an almost cinematic quality to it. This is a beautifully paced song that features an array of instruments across it's lengthy duration, including saxophone, flute and others. But with all that happening, nothing sounds out of place. It's all beautifully composed and seamlessly integrated into one musical piece. And that gorgeous lead guitar floats above it all at just the right moments.

Lyrically, there's a lot to take in here. Underneath is a concept album which, in the bands' words "explores mortality and existentialism; reality and dream".

This is a highly recommended album from a couple of great talents in the Davis brothers. I'm sure it's not the last we'll be hearing of them.

8.5/10