FOR MY PARENTS

1. "Legend" (11:51) sounds like a Russian promotional soundtrack extolling the virtues of their Siberian landscapes; very cinematic (it feels almost contrived to pull on psychological heartstrings). (21.25/25)

2. "Nostalgia" (12:05) the melodies here are a bit more engaging than the previous song but they're so simple and repeated to exhaustion despite the excellent build (too slow) and cataclysmic crescendo. (21.75/25)

3. "Dream Odyssey" (8:03) piano and nylon-stringed guitar open this one (using the same pace and format as their other songs). After 90 seconds drums and electric guitar join in, gradually increasing their contributions. Very pretty and emotional. At 3:20 they start round two with electric guitar taking over the lead melody on its lower end. Very satisfying and complete if a little too simple. (13.5/15)

4. "Unseen Harbor" (14:04) another pleasant and nostalgic folk melody is built upon, over and over, with even a key change at 4:30 in the middle of the SIGUR RÓS-like orchestrally-expanded soundscape (which, to be honest, sounds a bit murky to my ears). Yasunori Takada's drum kit begins to play a more dynamic role after 5:40, but then everything cuts out and clears out at 6:40 for a two-guitar, strings-supported restart. Now this is quite stunning: the orchestra very clearly making their contributions heard--especially the timpani. At 9:05 the guitars shift gears, take up a different melody while one of them turns to exclusive tremolo style delivery. By the end of the eleventh minute the full band and orchestra have rejoined and the wave-like buildup to the crescendo gets serious with full tsunami flooding occurring from the 13th minute on. A pretty awesome composition. (27/30)

5. "A Quiet Place (Together We Go) (9:24) a song on which the orchestral parts have an even more significant contribution--sometimes even scored without any support or contribution from the rock instruments. I like the thought of Goto and company composing with orchestra first in mind rather than as an exclusively support animal (though this does make the music more classical/symphonic than rock 'n' roll). Beautiful song. (18/20)

Total Time 55:27

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you enjoy solid, nostalgic, symphonic Post Rock.