THE ECLECTIC MEASURE

HYPNOS 69 are a Psychedelic band from Belgium who blend the old and the new styles to their sound. Lots of sampled mellotron on this one too.This one still hasn't clicked with me and I must admit i'm not fond of the vocals. Lots to like here though.

"I And You And Me (I)" is laid back with strummed guitar as reserved processed vocals join in. "The Eclectic Measure" is uptempo with heavy drums. It settles with vocals quickly. A nice laid back guitar solo arrives before 3 minutes. It turns aggressive a minute later as he rips it up. Contrasts continue. "Forgotten Souls" is a top two for me. I like the mood and the tone of the guitar. Check out the ANEKDOTEN vibe that changes right into a GENESIS flavour 2 minutes in with mellotron.Themes are repeated. Excellent track. "The Ambiguity Of Reality" is a short tune with strummed guitar and clarinet. "The Antagonist" hits the ground running. It settles with bass, vocals, organ and drums as contrasts continue. Sax 2 minutes in followed by a guitar solo.

"Halfway To The Stars" opens with theremin followed by an electronic beat. Guitar then vocals follow then mellotron. "I And You And Me (II)" features vocals with strummed guitar after a minute. It starts to build before 2 1/2 minutes then settles back again. Some crazy sax late. I like the sax in the next song "Ominous (But Fooled Before)" but not the vocals so much. "The Point Of No Return" is my other top two. Just a great sound to this one. It settles with vocals after a minute. A dark calm 3 minutes in with bass. Mellotron follows. It kicks back in before 7 minutes. "Deus Ex Machina" is dreamy and spacey to start. A lazy tune with vocals and laid back guitar. The guitar does become aggressive before 6 minutes though.

3.5 stars. I can see why this is getting some good reviews here, but I have to many issues with it to offer up 4 stars.