THE SHADOW OF DREAMS

Do you like Rob Reed's Magenta project? Do you like Van der Graaf Generator? If you answered yes to both these questions, than what would you think if I told you that the Othello Syndrome is the perfect marriage of these two groups? And that's what we have here... and it's an incredible release that I'm surprised more prog enthusiasts haven't clamored to acquire.

And why does this sound like a marriage of these two bands? Well, Rob Reed and drummer Tim Robinson are performers on this album and Reed helped with the production (hence the Magenta references). The other side of the equation is provided by lead vocalist and bassist Paul Kadman, whose vocal stylings are clearly inspired by Peter Hammill. Along with Kadman is guitarist Martin Rosser

In addition to the two aforementioned influences, there is also an ever-present quirkiness to the music as if inspiration from Gentle Giant was weaving its way around in the background, ever so subtly. The Moog synthesizer is gently weaved in and out of the songs in a very creative way. At times the music even has some medieval touches, making for an interesting, eclectic listen.

I greatly enjoyed this album and highly recommend it for fans of Rob Reed's projects and open- minded VDGG fans that don't mind a sort of VDGG meets neo-prog mixture.