PARADISE OUT OF TIME

I was supposed to get their latest release, Island Noises, which was much praised by a friend of mine of the ProgBrasil forum page. According to him it is a double concept album of sorts. But Paradise Out Of Time,. released an year before, was the only one I could get a hold of, so I took my chances with it. So I was surprised of how much melodic and conventional this album showed it to be when I heard it. Not much symphonic prog here, in fact. Mostly song oriented prog rock. And - in that vein - they are quite good.

Poor Genetic Material has quite a consistent discography (8 albums so far) and I don´t know it this one really represents their best stuff. However, I found the music inside to be pleasant, although nothing here stands out that much. Nice melodies and an excellent singer (Phil Griffiths , also Alias Eye) are their strong points. The instrumental part of the CD is also very good, although a bit subdue. Production is not that great either. Guest member Oliver Berger (violin) gives a slightly folky color to several tracks. Highlights are the longest songs, Out Of time and the closer My Other Life. Both are over 7 minutes and more energetic and original than the others. Both are also good examples of how far they can go if they persue that direction

After repeated spins I´m more intrigued than actually pleased with this album. It certainly shows a band with lots of potential, but still not quite there. maybe with a more dynamic production things could be much improved. I´m looking forward to hear more of their works, specially Island Noises.

Rating: something between 2.5 and 3 stars.