FOYERS OF THE FUTURE

This second album is my recent introduction to the Finnish instrumental band Moonwagon. Better late... My first impression is very positive. The 8-minute opener 'Elsewhere' starts interestingly in a way that doesn't immediately reveal the nature of the music. First you hear just drums, then the others join in turns: acoustic guitar, bass, piano. If you listened to this in a blindfold test, you could expect a vocalist enter too and think that it's either a singer-songwriter or [mainstream] pop album. Litte by little the music grows and some space rock elements come closer, but the track avoids categorization and is just generally enjoyable mid-tempo instrumental art rock. 'New World Warrior' is more hectic, and is actually in a constant progress. Soundscape does have a psychedelic edge, but for the most part it feels closer to an instrumental section on some Flower Kings epic than e.g. Hawkwind. I say this in a positive sense. 'Dawnwnd' soars even more effectively.

At this point I'm already impressed by the band's wide range in playing. For example Ami Hassinen's keyboards use influences from vintage prog such as Genesis as well as from the so called space rock tradition. Further tracks only make this feeling stronger, concerning the whole quartet. Joni Tiala is equally many-sided as guitarist, and the rhythm section of Janne Ylikorpi and Jani Korpi keeps everything in good balance. I wouldn't only call this excellent space rock, this is (at least nearly) excellent prog, period. The band have a voice of their own, and the spacey and earthly elements are in nice harmony. When the tracks grow longer, they are not extended just for the sake of it, but because there is a lot of happening in the music.

There's no any lack of coherence or creative team spirit, I mean that each single musical ingredient, no matter how virtuotic, works perfectly for the whole, which remains quite interesting all the way. (For progressive rock with vocals it is no doubt easier to keep the listener excited, not to mention forming album concepts.) It wasn't very far for me to give five stars, but maybe there are no absolutely special, cathartic mindblowers full of magic. Instead we have here a strong 62-minute album with no fillers around. Warmly recommended!