THE VOYAGE

The best thing I can say about this album by Nightales is that the bass playing is nice. Otherwise, nothing on it sticks with me, even after repeated listenings. The music itself, all too often ventures way too close to new age, with placid themes and unobtrusive playing.

The band is made up of three core members, who all play keyboards. Mark Walczak also provides the aforementioned fretless bass lines. Ken Lotz also plays drums, and Ben Jaegerdoubles on guitar. For a band with three keyboard players, the synths are far too unassuming, like the washes Tony Banks provided for Genesis mostly in their waning years.

Guitar solos are also too simplistic for my tastes. It appears to me that this band would go over well with the Windham Hill crowd more than true rock fans.