FOUR SIDES

1. "The Oldest of Trees" (22:39) what starts out as a kind Prog Lite I AND THOU-like piece turns into something that sounds like an early-form of an ELP song before turning TONY BANKS-GENESIS in the tenth minute and beyond. Too bad the lead vocalist isn't more developed/adept cuz some of the constructs of the song's motifs are quite nice (though some are fairly weak for their simplicity). The seventeenth minute bursts into a passage that sounds as if it comes off of one of IQ's 1980s releases. Again: too bad about the weak vocal. (39.25/45)

2. "Eris" (19:46) opening with three minutes of wind, followed by three full minutes of spacey synths before Vangelis-like organ takes over in the seventh minute. Finally, it's showing some promise--even as the synth-organ becomes the lone instrument in the soundscape. Reminds me a lot of 1970s VANGELIS. At the 11-minute mark Ken's concerto for a Space Age is usurped by a fast-paced passage full of bass and drums to go with the Emersonian barrage of keyboards (organs, mostly). The music slows down in the fifteenth minute--maybe to make room for the piano that enters to become the dominant keyboard. The music builds to a proggy crescendo before slipping into a calmer synth-directed motif at the 16-minute mark. Nice transition with some really nicely synched drum and bass work to accompany the synth lead work. Unfortunately, this lead melody work gets a bit stale after the second or third run through. (34.75/40)

3. "Twenty K" (17:06) Sounds like practice/demo sessions or outtakes from Wind and Wuthering. (30.5/35)

4. "Moon to Follow" (9:37) a nice song that feels as if it bridges the individual styles of Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. (17.75/20)

5. "Afterthought" (4:21) almost classical piano played alone at first before being joined by electric bass and drums and then full complement of synths. This reminds me of some of the earliest New Age artists of the 1980s like Michael Jones and David Lantz (and even Vangelis). Nice composition despite sounding a bit dated and New Age-y. (8.75/10)

Total Time 73:29

Gentle, pleasant, melodic, simple second-tier NeoProg. Sounds like practice/demo sessions or outtakes from Wind and Wuthering. I will say that Ken and his band are improving in all aspects of music making: sophistication, composition, recording and sound engineering, as well as creating songs that are interesting and engaging from all perspectives.

B/four stars; many prog lover's are going to love this; to my mind, I still see a lot of room for improvement for this band--in multiple areas--though I will admit this is a great improvement over the band's first two albums (2014's Skye and 2017's Sand.)

P.S. Finally: Some album art that I find attractive.

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