COCOON

Multi-instrumentalist Peter Jones delivers a technically impressive debut for his Tiger Moth Tales project here. The name of the project is a little tip of the hat to Steve Hackett, and indeed musically speaking the style is reminiscent of Steve's early solo albums - the closest I'd say is probably Please Don't Touch, with its theatricality and whimsical weaving of atmospheric fairy tales (the best of which is probably The Isle of Witches).

It's all quite impressively accomplished, though at the same time Cocoon makes me feel like the best is yet to hatch; it's very tasteful, but I can't help but feel like there's a bit of fat and filler here and there, with cheesier, poppier moments filling out the running time and jarring me out of my enjoyment of the album. An interesting oddity, but I do wonder whether Peter Jones won't be better served in a band context where his ideas can be challenged and honed to allow the cream to rise to the top.