SONGS FROM THE LIAR'S LAIR

It's taken them 11 years, but finally the followers of this Finnish band are treated to a new album by this experienced outfit. And it's a pretty good album as well, and contains some of the most stunning tracks I've heard this year as well as some of the best tunes played by a Neo-Prog outfit ever. Perhaps not -the- best, but most certainly among them.

There are a few items on the tracklist of less worth though. Opening atmospheric piece Entering is really just the introduction to following track Martial Arts, and shouldn't have been given a function as a standalone feature. As an individual track it basically doesn't work very well. Sons of Madness represents the more cliched tributes to vintage Marillion's softer antics, while the final cut Liar's Lair (disregarding the hidden bonus track at the end) is a much better but less than perfect example of the same.

The rest of the tracks are stunning affairs though. Marginally keeping within the boundaries of vintage Neo-Prog and bordering on metal at times, these are strong compositions. Many segments are guitar-driven with synths and keyboard layers supplying minor details only, but also richly textured keyboards in strong interplay with wandering guitar patterns or riffs in various guises. The compositions tends to be sophisticated in construction, the moods and atmospheres strong and distinct - often with a slightly dark and brooding presence. And while the vocals might be typical of the genre, akin to Peter Gabriel, the vocalist utilize his somewhat limited range and expression to perfection throughout - adding more depth and emotion to these ventures than one might think possible without having a name like Gabriel or Fish.

And while the music as such might not be described as original or innovative, lots of subtle and many not so subtle details provides earcandy for fans of the genre and probably beyond as well. With a few unpredictable developments as an added bonus, the overall conclusion for me is that this is a stunning album, where a few select efforts of the more lacklustre variety are the only reasons for this album not hitting my top charts of 2009. Still, this is a highly recommended production nontheless - the strong tracks here are pretty brilliant after all as far as I'm concerned.