SHIMMERING LIGHTS

I find The D Project an interesting musical entity. They are very hard to peg down in terms of their genre. Clearly, they are progressive (neo-) at the onset, but on many songs they slide right into styles that bely their prog status. At times rather Dream Theater-like, others like no one I can put a handle on. The songs are all mostly interesting: virtuoso instrumentation all-around. These guys are veterans of other bands and know their chops. The only real criticism I might have is the slight tendency towards excessiveness: that level of fast playing where the musician tries to cram in as many notes as possible in a given lead. On a melodic level they are right up with the best. The tracks are memorable and recognizable after just a couple of listens. My favorites are They Come and Grow and That's Life. Very promising band. 4 stars.

From time to time, album titles can really depict the music inside in all its varied horizons and the highly original D Project do the concept justice by calling this debut "Shimmering Lights" not in conceptual structure but the opposite, a record full of different styles and themes ranging from heavy, to neo to symphonics with sympathetic nods to all. Multi-instrumentalist Stephane Desbiens is a seasoned prog vet in Quebec, playing with a slew of talented prog bands. He manages to enlist Tomas Bodin of the Flower Kings, Martin Orford of IQ and Fred Schendel of Glasshammer to come on board and add alittle pizzazz. Each song is a gem in its own right. Starting with the title as an opener was a very suave move , a nearly 9 minute journey into spectral delight , with initial sweeping synth ornamentations swept aside by charging guitar riffs, sneakily penetrating the pleasure zones. Bombastic as the drums enter the fray, smiling, the tune then veers into an altogether different vector, almost jazz-funk with ripping guitar noodlings that even hint at Fripp-isms! Daring stuff indeed, the bass carving up whatever sonic lanes are left to explore and rousing delirium. After a brief JFK snippet, the arrangement sets into a new groove, with a solid melody and chorus giving the vocals the proper introduction to release the chorus with some inspired singing ("Again"), a rollicking piece that rocks with unabashed genius. Bass player extraordinaire Mathieu Gosselin just rambles furiously as a James Bond Them like music soundtrack fuels the inspiration, some stunning Spanish guitar fingering to end this with a bang. Next up is the nasty "They Come and Grow" a über bluesy dirge with rolling organ, reptilian bass, "boum tchak " drum beats, searing phosphoric guitar salvos and an almost eerie barely disguised rage . A hyper serene mid-section recalls angelic escapades among the fluffy clouds with impassioned vocals stewarding the way, with delicate strings, violin and cello in tight agreement only to yield the path to slithering and orgasmic guitar solo that , hurls ,curls and unfurls awe and astonishment. The amazing music continues with the lavish splendor of "Hide From the Sun" permitting another stellar vocal performance by leader and main man Desbiens (who handles the guitar with such bravura), some dazzlingly romantic violin touches only contribute to the sad theme, I love beautiful music and this definitely is, mellotron taking a bow in time for an adventurous and sensitive fret job, the finale is fury incarnate, verging on heavy Metal .Catch my breath, nope! ."What is Done is Done "sounds almost like prime Blue Oyster Cult with crude rhythms and cruder vocals, bulldozer pounding galore, demonstrative guitar techniques are displayed within the harsh simplicity. In fact, he can shred too, torturing the fret board with a frenzy, A fun, short kick-ass rock song that is needed to seduce the bored audiophile back into reality. "End of the Recess" is a return to the celestial bliss, choir voices weaving with synths, a medieval acoustic guitar promenade, dashed by some superb mellotron bursts, a glimmering synth flight (Orford, I believe) that zooms through the horizon with operatic bombast followed by another bucolic acoustic voyage. Simply exquisite! "September Solitudes" is a ten minute epic that incorporates all the Floydian genius into a mellotron driven sonic landscape that intoxicates immediately. The brooding vocals are completely mesmerizing, the huge chorus "What lies ahead, remains unknown" is to die for and the axe sorties are utterly momentous. The gentle midsection has fluttering e-piano motifs, swimming in pools of synthesized bubbles, slowly evolving into a grandiose explosion that tries restraint but falls into a guitar exhibition that will leave you wondering! Again the scintillating finale is breeze of progressive bliss, whistling synths (I say Bodin!) scouring the universe with utter symphonic abandon. "That's Life" is a metal steamroller at first , synth soup next but when the bass burps into the stew , the coast becomes clear towards a delectable buffet of intense prog , Desbiens' guitar waltzing, spinning, twirling, crunching and slamming with unrestricted glee. Is it chopzilla? you ask , you bet! The riff becomes hysterically pervasive and spins off suddenly into another musical alley, more of that rollicking groove. A twirling Hammond solo (Schendel I say) keeps the pace glowing but the Gosselin bass solo is perfectly devastating. This a tremendous recording that will take a few spins before being consecrated as a must in any collection regardless of style, having the imprint of genuine affection for music all over its grooves. 4.5 Deserved goodies.

The D Project stands for the Desbiens Project, started by Canadian multi- instrumentalist/singer Stéphane Desbiens, leader of the band Sense.He wrote his first album ''Shimmering Lights'' in 2006, eventually released on Ozeta Productions.On this effort he handles all guitars, vocals and some keyboards, while he is helped by several musicians on bass, violins, keys and drums, like his Sense bandmate and Red Sand's bassist Matthieu Gosselin and a number of important guest keyboardists like Martin Orford, Tomas Bodin and Fred Schendel.

With this album Desbiens pushes Sense's style a bit further, introducing Fusion and Prog/Alternative elements to his composing and songwriting, thus The D Project's sound is a little more modern compared to Sense's. however the retro influences are still alive and strong.The overall approach reminds of PORCUPINE TREE, SKY ARCHITECT, SATELLITE, MILLENIUM or NINE STONES CLOSE, containing very atmospheric compositions, which are also quite flexible, but there is also a very strong PINK FLOYD aura throughout.Very deep and hard-sounding guitar grooves, expressive English vocals and a vast amount of lighter passages are the main elements of Desbiens' proposal.The crunchy guitar riffs are always followed by spacey electronics, lovely and smooth violin passages, acoustic textures and sharp symphonic synthesizers in an approach, which sounds very tight by the end.The calmer vocal parts, the spacey keyboards and some of Desbiens guitar solos ( like in ''September Solitudes'') have an evident FLOYD-ian color.The overall result is a diverse and very fresh album full of quite interesting ideas, both prog and progressive.

The first step for Mr. Desbiens leaves the listener wanting for more.Trying hardly to come up with an original style, Stephan created seven energetic compositions with multiple influences, which deserve some attention.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

The opening of this album sounds like the beginning of Pink Floyd's Dogs, and that turns out to be a recurring theme throughout the album. Mostly in Stephane Desbiens' vocals (not the tone, but the style and lyrics), keyboards, and sometimes his guitar, there is a sense that he has listened to Pink Floyd a lot, and used their sound as a launching point for this, his first album as The D project.

That isn't to say this album is a clone or rip-off of Floyd, although many tracks have a "A Momentary Lapse Of Reason" vibe, and one sound a little like Pigs On The Wing. Interspersed are some Steve Howe influenced guitar lines, and Tony Banks (ugh) inspired synths. All of this is blended with some modern (The Flower Kings, Spock's Beard...) symphonic prog, that raises this album (at least to me) over the usual Genesis inspired neo-prog.

The standout track is That's Life, which despite having lyrics that only consist of the title sung in chorus repeatedly, has the most energetic arrangement and performance on the album.

While I'm not a huge fan of most neo, I do find this to be a tasty album.