POLLEN

This album is one of those hidden gems in this scene. The prog rock scene is full of them and it is difficult to find them. I was alerted to it by browsing the ProgArchives, the letter "P" section. The album soon landed on my doorstep.

The vocals are in French, this being a French-Canadian band. The music comes across as a bit Italian Prog Rock scene to me. PFM springs to mind. But the music is mostly a blend of their own style, GENESIS, YES, PENTACLE, CATHEDRAL and GENTLE GIANT. The music is therefore pretty varied. It changes from uptempo and pretty adventerous to moody pastorial ballads. The music is vocals and keyboards driven and the musicianship is pretty amazing as far as I can see.

This is not an over-the-top symphonic prog album. It is more song orientated than classical music orientated. It is still an album I really like. It is a fresh breath of air, compared to the English/American symphonic prog bands. POLLEN has their own style and it is a shame this is their only official album. This is an excellent addition to any prog rock collection. In particular; to my own collection.

4 stars