THE OTHER LIFE

I've always loved the quirky, upbeat, humorous, and highly melodic sounds and stylings of this band. They create a retro sound that is always difficult to pinpoint as there are usually elements of a variety of bands/artists within each and every song--part of what makes their sound and albums so intriguing.

1. "Chameleon Sky" (6:31) so pretty and melodic, in the best vein of quirk-poppy XTC or Genesis. A tip three song for me. (9/10)

2. "Broken Mirror" (4:14) nice song that is diminished slightly by the lifting of Genesis "Duchess" programmed drum line and a few pitchy vocal lines. (8.75/10)

3. "The Twilight Mind" (6:45) the first of several Peter Hammill-like vocal performances over some fairly simplistic classic rock music (Journey, ABACAB Genesis). (8.5/10)

4. "Johnny Head-in-Air" (5:25) straight out of early Caravan/National Health only more cohesively melodic like early solo Brian Eno or Jethro Tull. My favorite song on the album. (9.5/10)

5. "I Carry Light" (5:46) such an unusual song--reminding me of the often dense and convoluted sound of Thomas Thelen songs. (8.5/10)

6. "The Trial of the Pyx" (7:58) with the lyrics and singing of Peter Hammill and David Bowie but the music of Styx or Toto. (13/15)

7. "Weak End" (3:10) back to a richer sound palette like the first four songs, there's an debut album Ambrosia-like innocence to this one. How?! And then they try to go Gentle Giant! (8.75/10)

8. "The Shall See Hotel" (6:23) cool, rich sound to start out this mood piece, it turns "heavy" pop rock and loses a bit of its allure. Some awesome guitar work, though, and welcome sax and vocal performances. (8.75/10)

9. "The Library of the Future" (3:26) acoustic guitar and solo voce--like a Prog Folk song. Could be a Steve Hackett solo piece. Nice. My final top three song. (9/10)

Total Time 49:38

B+/4.5 stars; a truly unique and different and delightful listening experience that I think most every prog music lover would enjoy.