ONE EYE ON THE SUNRISE

Reassuringly often in these days of what seems to be a resurgence of great progressive rock an album is brought out that completely obsesses me for several months. I bought One Eye on the Sunrise months ago, knowing it was going to be something special. It grabbed me from the very first playing and i listened to it many, many times over the ensuing weeks.

What is more unusual is an album that grabs you in this way and maintains its hold on you, still seeming fresh and never sounding too tired or familiar. The addition of a real drummer this time around has made a tangible difference to the sound that Adrian Jones and his talented crew make. I'm not going to do a laborious track by track critique here, there are others more proficient than I at doing that.

To me the most important thing is that this music just works on so many levels, whether the exquisite vocals from Marc Atkinson, the inventive soundscapes provided by keys man Brendan Eyre, the soaring guitar playing of Adrian Jones himself, or the driving rhythms and supporting percussion offered by Pieter Van Hoorn, for me this album ticks all the boxes, even to the extent of giving my much desired, but rarely achieved, full on emotional reaction, tears, goosebumps etc. The addition of Cellist Katy Bell on 2 of the tracks demonstrates a new maturity of composition that greatly adds to the overall sound pallette. New bass man Peter Vink and the wonderful Matt Stevens also contribute well.

I know that, despite the departure of Marc Atkinson, that Adrian is already hard at work on the next album and I, for one, am already watering at the mouth in anticipation.