THE SHADOW OF DREAMS

Blend VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR in their prime with some Krautrock moments and wrap it in modern-day digital sound. Sounds bad. Are you an old fashioned cynic, and sceptical at that? No need to be. I said, VDGG in their prime. Yeas, that mean fresh and enjoyable. It's not so directly borrowing their style (as in the case of MATTHEW PARMENTER, for example), and in a way it's a bit softer, or perhaps more easygoing. There are more direct symphonic rock infusions in their sound, with bits of the merriest GENESIS or YES. So, they're not very dark. Lyrics are critical (touching a position of a human being in a modern society) bet rather funny or cynical then deep (although there is sublimity between the verses). Perhaps clumsy a bit here and there. Vocals are doo-dooing, synth are buzzing, and songs are slowly meandering from one picture to another, keeping the interest, but not being too difficult to handle. As for the Krautrock moments, honestly I don't know why I associated it with this album. Maybe because of slightly German accent? But this is Welsh band, not German. But there IS something in vocal, timbre, melodies, approach. I don't know. Perhaps a bit of a raspy GROBSCHNITT. Finally, I mentioned, modern 'digital' package, but if you're fan of the 70's sounds, don't run away, because production is great, and sound is not flooded with half a dozen of Yamaha DX7 layers, don't worry. Guitars are as they should be, brass too. Perhaps a bit clean, but not too crystal clean.

As a final word: it might seem a bit raw at first sight, but it will quickly grow. Worth giving a try.