THE ART OF VANISHING

The band Cirrus Bay started out in 2001 as an acoustic duo that played coffee houses. Since then, they have evolved to a full- blown Neo-prog.. Since 2008 to the present day, they have released 6 albums, their 6th album being called "The Art of Vanishing" released in June of 2019. Currently, the band line-up consists of founder Bill Gillham and Mark Blasco, who both play most of the instruments and provide backing vocals. On this album, Tai Shan provides the lead vocals and Sharra Acie sings backup vocals. The album consists of 11 tracks, 2 of which are just over 10 minutes which bookend the album, with the entire album's duration being over 54 minutes.

"A Blossom of Hills" begins with some nice acoustic work which is soon joined by some very lovely vocals, starting with Tai alone, and then soon with harmonization. After 2 minutes, the tempo moves a lot faster and the entire band plays, but this strangely fades out rather quickly and the acoustic sound returns. The music gets a bit atmospheric, and then suddenly goes up tempo again without any warning and the guitar improvises off of a riff. This is followed by a synth solo, the rhythm breaks, then returns with vocals. This time the tempo remains upbeat for a while, but the first half of the track seemed quite choppy and poorly executed, but improves in the 2nd half. Everything calms again around the 7 minute mark and the interchanging slow to fast tempo pattern continues through the track.

"Undiscovered Isle" is a nice, peaceful acoustic instrumental track. "A Garment of Clouds" begins immediately with the full band and the vocalist coming in early. The music is simple and easy to listen to, the singing it lovely, but everything else moves ahead in a standard beat. "The North Country" is another instrumental that follows a solider beat with the organ taking the lead and with the overall sound remaining pretty mellow. After two minutes, the beat and sound gets a little heavier and the organ and guitar echo each other pretty much note for note. In the last minute, it returns to the original sound. "Sooke Harbour" goes for a more pastoral feel with acoustic guitar and a recorder (later joined by sax) and a soft, moderate rhythm which approaches a folk-ish vibe. "Eden" is another straightforward sounding track with a smooth, moderate and rolling feel, a rollicking synth solo appears in the instrumental break, followed by wordless vocals and then a short guitar section before returning to the main vocal melody.

"Unexpected Wonder" is a bit longer nearing the 7 minute mark. The rhythm is a bit trickier here. There is some nice sax supported by vibes and other keys with some guitar showing through. The moderate feel suddenly stops and then everything starts again with a more uptempo feel, again chopped and slightly clumsy like in the first track. Sometimes the music moves from one section to another quite smoothly, but other times, it seems like it gets cut off. But the track is more progressive like the first track, just not always well executed, or edited. Overall, however, the music remains mellow and safe. "Lost and Profound" returns to the shorter track format. It is soft and without rhythm with a piano backing up the sax, with a classical feel to it, except for the sax which might remind you of bad new age music. Kenny G anyone? "The Dictator" brings back the more standard, soft-rock sound, but at least features the lovely singing.

"The Vanishing Place" is the closing track, and the other 10 minute song. The track begins with solo piano in a minor key. Soon a sax plays along and then the band stumbles in. Vocals begin shortly after. As is the case with the other two longer tracks, this one is more progressive, but still retains the soft rock sound that pretty much continues through the entire album. The song pretty much stays the same all the way through, however, offering no real highpoints or surprises.

This music would be recommended to those that like their music on the soft side, with hints of folk tendencies throughout. There are progressive tracks, usually the longer ones with the many shorter tracks being more straightforward. However, the music isn't very challenging and is in a soft-rock style. The more progressive sections are somewhat clumsy and not very well edited with fade outs or cut offs between sections. The music isn't bad though, but nothing really stands out on the album either. The tracks stay quite safe sounding, but at least the vocalist is good, so that helps. 3 stars.

Bill Gillham has developed into one of the better composers/writers out there, having a penchant for beautiful melodies that sometimes will start in one key and end in another. Brian Wilson toyed with this at times. Dave Stewart was a master of it, and of course Tony Banks was a fan of this sort of composition. Banksian type chord progressions are heard on the new Cirrus Bay album, but in different settings. The music is very outdoorsy, and more acoustic and organic than previous albums. Of course, I never want to review a Cirrus Bay album too quickly, given their talent for melodic subtleties which are rife throughout the different moods and styles that wrap up into this coherent whole.

The album starts with 'A Blossom of Hills', a pastoral type intro, blending 12-string guitars which lay the foundation for a nice melody, sung richly by Tai. I love the Anthony Phillips-like crossfades in this track, adding to the pastoral mood which is later broken by a burst of guitar over energetic rhythms. The track gets quite glorious toward the end. The next track, 'Undiscovered Isle' is an acoustic guitar solo, pleasant but nothing special. But the next, 'A Garment of Clouds' is a strong candidate for the prettiest song they've ever done, still with fairly unconventional chord changes and poignant, wistful lyrics, matching the mood of the song. Musically it reminds me of a cross between Renaissance and a Genesis track like ''Time Table' or 'Heathaze'. Something like that. The next track, 'The North Country' is another strong nod to Bo Hansson, something they did on their previous album. This one has a stronger mood for me, and like Bo's music, I envision driving across a cloudy countryside when I hear this. 'Sooke Harbour' is a lovely instrumental, led by recorder of all things, and sax over 12-string guitars, piano and organ. A sense of longing in this one, hard to describe. One of my favorites. 'Eden' is a breezy upbeat song, not too far removed from 'Boats' from 'Places Unseen', followed by 'Unexpected Wonder', another instrumental which, while being quite complex, is also chock full of rich melodies. I love the way the music changes throughout this track while flowing together seamlessly. This one reminds me some of Deluge Grander. The next one is intriguing. 'Lost and Profound' is a piano and sax duet that sounds almost classical, beautiful in an unconventional way but I can't quite place the influence. Philip Glass? Tony Banks? Kerry Minnear? Perhaps just a smidgeon of all three, I don't know, but it also feels a touch like their earlier piece 'The Secret Country'. Next they break into a proper song, 'The Dictator', which sounds a bit like the Beatles and a bit like Tony Banks to me. Almost radio friendly, but in a good way. Great build up at the end. Great vocals here, and intriguing lyrics. Finally, 'The Vanishing Place' rounds things out as the most proggy track on the album, full of twists and turns, time-signature changes, majestic passages, and repeating melodies. A good contender for the best track in their entire catalog. I'm giving this a solid 4.5 at least. The music is warm, and unusually well written and executed. I may edit this review once the cd with bonus tracks becomes available, depending on the quality of the bonus tracks. But this was a very nice surprise and there is much detail here, I find myself listening again and again, finding new things to appreciate with each listen.

The progressive rock band Cirrus Bay have been around since 2008 when they released their first commercial album entitled The Slipping of a Day. I was fortunate enough to be a part of that project since I have known and been friends with Front man Bill Gillham for over 35 years. Bill and I have collaborated on music over the years. So here we are in 2019 and Cirrus Bay has released their 6th commercial album entitled The Art of Vanishing. First of all the CD artwork looks great! Cirrus Bay has always had nice covers for their albums. This is an album which I will need to listen to several times I believe for it to grow on me.

From the first listen that I have had it doesn't surpass their last album from 2016 which was Places Unseen. That album surprised me in many ways with it's new direction it took. That isn't to say that The Art of Vanishing is a bad album. Cirrus Bay over the years has had several female singers. The current one Tai Shan has a wonderful voice and was the lead singer on the previous work. She plays a big part in the success of many of the tracks on this new album. The first long track on the album is entitled Blossom of Hills. It is perhaps my favorite track on the album after the first listen. Cirrus Bay is a bit like Genesis, Renaissance, and lately a bit of the late Swedish prog musician Bo Hansson. A Garment of Clouds is also very nicely done. The lyrics of the song paint a portrait! The next track that I liked was The North Country. This song like on their previous album had a nod to Bo Hansson. There it was a song entitled Horseback to Hanssonland which blew me away. The new song also captures the feel of the late Bo Hansson for the most part. The second half of the album has a track that I enjoyed right away! It was entitled The Dictator! The song might be suggestive of our political environment these days. Its well done though!

The new album consists of well over an hour of music including bonus tracks which are not available unless you purchase the CD. My only disappointment if you can call it that was the album for me at least didn't have the energy, music hooks or new direction feel as the last one did. On the bonus tracks I would have liked to have seen a song Cirrus Bay did for their first 2008 album. It is entitled Starlings In the Sand and was not included on their first effort due to time constraints on the CD. I am hoping it is included in a future disc sometime. This album though is a must if you are a progressive rock enthusiast and a follower of Cirrus Bay's works. :)

Another solid effort from Cirrus Bay, who changes somewhat with each release, but also retains similar elements, notably strong melody and a love for chord and key changes, sometimes recalling Tony Banks. This is probably less 'proggy' but also more beautiful than 'Places Unseen'. The songs breathe a bit more and sound more organic, in part due to much tasteful use of sax, piano and acoustic guitar amid the keyboards and electric guitars. There is a wistful, late summer feel to much of the album, and never more apparent than in 'Sooke Harbour', which utilizes recorder and sax as unlikely co-lead instruments over piano, keys and 12-string guitar. This is the most beautiful piece of music I've heard all year, not incredibly complex, but a very lovely instrumental. 'The Vanishing Place' and 'Unexpected Wonder' are other favorites, the most complex and overtly 'proggy'. The second half is much more progressive sounding, with the exception of 'The Dictator', a simpler track but with a good melody and great vocals, along with some killer Banks-like? chords at the end. As usual, there seems to be a lot to delve into, and a lot of variation, with Tai Shan providing really beautiful vocals, with original member Sharra Acle providing backing vocals and harmonies, and they really sound nice together in 'A Blossom of Hills'.

The 2 cd only bonus tracks are mostly acoustic, reminding me a little of Anthony Phillips. 'Falling Leaves' is a vocal track with 12-string guitars, bass and piano. Bill sings in this one, not bad, but I'm glad it's only one song. Definitely a bit of an Ant Phillips vibe here. 'Medley for Solo Piano' is 12-minutes of solo piano, and doesn't sound as professionally recorded, but there are beautiful moments. Again, reminding of Ant Phillips. This is my breakdown of tracks:

A Blossom of Hills - **** Undiscovered Isle - *** A Garment of Clouds - ***** The North Country - **** Sooke Harbour - ***** Eden - *** Unexpected Wonder - ***** Lost and Profound - **** The Dictator - **** The Vanishing Place - ***** Falling Leaves - *** Medley for Solo Piano - ****

A promising release from Bill Gillham and his Cirrus Bay support posse. I like Bill's attempts at a more classic Prog Folk sound--including asking for more folk-like vocal performances from his crystal-voiced singers.

1. "A Blossom of Hills" (10:28) for its first four minutes this song is constructed as a Prog Folk song from about 1970-1 with the sound palette of early ANT PHILLIPS guitar albums and a MADDY PRIOR or JUDY DYBLE-like voice in the lead. Then the music bursts forward into more jazz-folk-rock canter until settling back into the Celtic folk sound and pacing of the opening at 6:50. I have to admit, I really like this folkier side to Bill's work--but it works well in contrast to the BYRDS-like music in the fast section. Great performance by Tai Shan. Nice work, Cirrus Bay! Maybe my favorite song you've ever done. (18/20)

2. "Undiscovered Isle" (2:52) a nice folk guitar solo somewhere between Will Ackerman and Ant Phillips. (8.5/10)

3. "A Garment of Clouds" (5:02) sounds like song built to support a Sandy Denny, Jacqui MacShee, Judy Dyble, Maddy Prior, or Barbara Gaskin vocal performance. Nice prog folk. The dreamy sax-drenched left turn at the three minute mark does nothing, thus the U-turn to get back to Maddy's lovely voice--I mean Tia's. Nice, fitting pastoral lyrics. Overall, a very nice song. (8.75/10)

4. "The North Country" (5:16) that last two songs had helped me almost forget that this was Cirrus Bay, but here we are back to the plodding straight-time simplicity that is typical of most CB songs. This one is in fact so rudimentary in its construction and so "ancient" in its sound that it sounds like it could come from a practice session for some band director's middle school band. Even the shift into second gear at the 2:18 mark doesn't save this 1960s warmup song. How the Byrds sounded at age 14. Odd to have so many instrumentals on a CB album. (7.75/10)

5. "Sooke Harbour" (3:06) a nice little folk pseudo-achronistic instrumental. (4.5/5)

6. "Eden" (3:42) a kind of 1960s Jackie DeShannon song. Nice but it'd never make it onto the charts. Nice Annie-Haslam-like vocalise by Tia in several sections. (7.75/10)

7. "Unexpected Wonder" (6:55) some new sounds (for CB) yet turn out to be 1960s old. Same plodding pacing, same simple though catchy melodies, same simple constructs and soli, just slightly different sound palette for this long instrumental. I'll give Bill a little credit: there is some tension and discord in the third and fourth minutes with his use of minor chords, but it changes little the end result. I don't like the Wurlitzer organ used. (11/15)

8. "Lost and Profound" (3:02) piano and clarinet. A little jazzier than usual until Bill's piano begins sounding like a piano teacher's support play for a student at the 0:48 mark. An étude! (For a fairly unexceptional student.) (3.75/5)

9. "The Dictator" (4:07) another very straightforward song, almost Beatles-ish, though far more simple. Nice vocal performance in the B "chorus" section. (8/10)

10. "The Vanishing Place" (10:08) opens with some tension-filled discordant piano arpeggi before switching to bouncy chords in support of clarinet. At the 0:48 second mark, drums burst in with the full band and voice to give us a full soundscape of simple prog. A few pseudo-switches in timing help us to believe that this is a more complex song than it is. It's not. The timing is straightforward, sometimes doubling or halving, but always one directional. (16.75/20)

Total Time 54:38

I feel that the musical productions of Bill Gillham had been getting stronger over the arc of his career--especially since the 2009 Cirrus Bay release, A Step Into Elsewhere, which had shown so much promise and potential. But we may be on the descending curve of that arc now as the productions here are lacking in so many ways none of which are more important than enthusiasm. These songs feel tired--as if they are rehashings of old, already used-up themes and hooks. And the sad and disappointing part is that I love the sound of Cirrus Bay! I always have! It's just that it has rarely stepped beyond the realm of ABC prog into something more creative and exciting. Yes, there is a place and praise for imitation, but one would hope that an artist--that a person--can grow, can evolve and try new things. I'm not sure Bill would see it this way. His music is very pretty, and very uplifting, it just tends to drag and begins to sound like background music when I believe it shouldn't.

B-/3.5 stars; a nice addition to the compendium of Prog World but nothing to write home about.

Cirrus Bay are a Washington State-based symphonic/neo-prog project of Bill Gillham, currently on hiatus. Sadly overlooked by many when their albums were released, there is much for followers of Renaissance, the classic Genesis era and the Canterbury sound to enjoy in their pastoral, dreamy musical soundscapes with beautiful vocals and intertwining, stream of consciousness, guitar and keyboard prog noodlings.

Cirrus Bay had their roots as an acoustic duo comprising Bill Gillham on guitar and Sharra Gillham (now Acle) on vocals who performed Bill's intricate, but melodic, compositions live in intimate venues in Washington State in the early 2000s. With support from engineer and drummer, Mark Blasco, a number of CDs were recorded and released: The Slipping of a Day (2008), A Step Into Elsewhere (2009) and Whimsical Weather (2012) saw Bill's musical vision develop more clearly and culminated in The Search For Joy (2014). This was a strong, well-produced album that captured their more prog-orientated musical approach and boasted the talents of Thieves' Kitchen's Amy Darby and Phil Mercy on a couple of tracks. The arrival of Tai Shan on lead vocals for 2016's Places Unseen took the band up another notch, in my view (see that earlier review).

The Art of Vanishing (2019) followed up the promise of that earlier album - and included what Bill called more user- friendly songs and instrumentals, whilst keeping the spirit and style of the previous album. Some lovely harmonies resulted from Sharra joining Tai on backing vocals. The absence of Brendan Buss meant Bill and Mark covered the instrumental sprinklings with saxophone and piano ? maintaining the musically continuity very well.

A Blossom of Hills is an impressive opening epic, with sumptuous vocal harmonies, a spritely beat, bags of melodic complexity and a triumphant, proggy finish making it an album highlight. Undiscovered Isle is a gentle, solo acoustic guitar instrumental, followed by the dreamy, relaxing vocals of A Garment of Clouds and provides more light and shade to the album.

The North Country has some pleasing slabs of retro 70s keyboards and some excellent guitar themes later on. Another trio of instrumentals Sooke Harbour, Unexpected Wonder and Lost and Profound (with some soaring saxophone) create that unifying atmosphere of pastoral calm and contemplation which is such a central theme to the music of Cirrus Bay. Two more accessible and commercial tracks, Eden and The Dictator, provide some easy-listening enjoyment with Tai's beautiful vocals to the fore. They are also key to the success of the final epic track, The Vanishing Place, which effortlessly twists and turns through beautiful, evocative, lyrics and Genesis-like keyboards to a satisfying conclusion.

Unfortunately, as Bill states, The Art of Vanishing sold no better than Places Unseen, and subsequently he has now decided to put the project on hiatus. His new project is called Echoing Trees and he says it will be "more rock, more indie, more live sounding but hopefully without compromising any of the art. I will be on guitars, keyboards and vocals along with Sarah Truman-Gillham on bass and vocals, and hopefully Mark Blasco on drums and vocals as well, to carry us into a bit of a more guitar-centric direction, and a new sound I hope many will like!"

Bill, in his home near Mount Rainier in Washington, is also working on an instrumental solo release that is more piano and keyboard dominated, as a contrast to Echoing Trees. So hopefully the future looks good for this very talented musician as he currently moves out of lockdown and into fresh pastures. In the meantime, I strongly recommend checking out what could now be the Cirrus Bay releases on Bandcamp, if you missed these hidden pastoral neo-prog gems on their initial release. Finally, it is worth highlighting the expressive cover artwork of Lee Gaskins, which successfully evokes the soothing prog music on the later releases, although is it only me who sees Meghan Markle on The Art of Vanishing?

(Extract from The Progressive Aspect)