IT'S KIND OF YOU TO ASK

It took me quite some time to get myself ready to review this album. This is usually the case with very complex albums but to say that this is such an album goes too far I have to say. In fact it appears to be a pretty accessible album by Also Eden, a new name for me by the way. And yet it was a hard one to get a grip on. Also the level of compositional quality was hard to judge this time. I will review song by song to get the picture together for this one.

Star is a long track with a strange soft/silent like start (I even thought my boxes were not ok) for the first two minutes but after this it turns to a normal song. This opener gives a good idea about the standard of this album that treats of loneliness. The vocals and lyrics are very important on this album. Accessible and yet complex is what I want to call the most of this album and certainly also this first track. Good song. 3,75*

Artificial Light goes on the same way more or less though it's a track of only half the length as the opener. It results in less attention for the instrumental bits and pieces on this one. 3,5*.

Skimming Stones is a very good example of the significant lyrics. This is a very sensitive song and impresses in this way. Usually not what I'm personally looking for in music but still this one moves me in a way. 3,75*.

Outside In is a longer track once again and this is the heaviest track on the album at least in the first half of the song with pretty heavy guitarplay. Halfway down the piano takes over in a beautiful way to introduce the more quiet second half of the mini-epic. Another very good song. 3,75*.

Together Alone is the shortest and least track of this album with again a strong focus on meaningful lyrics. Still a pretty good track, 3,25*.

6th track is the very highlight called A Widow's Eyes. Besides the also on this one important lyrics this track offers quite a lot for the more instrumental minded listeners like me. Especially in the second half of the song this becomes obvious. Excellent song this. 4,25*.

Photographs is a very good closing track of this average length album (1 hour). It summarizes the average standard of this album just like in the opening track. So if you want to check out this one in the store or wherever, first and last track suffice to make up your mind. 3,75*.

And the given score for most of the tracks (3,75*) is actually what this album is worth for me. Therefore 4 stars is the only fair outcome I can think of. It's hard to compare this band with other bands. They remind me somewhat of Abel Ganz and Millenium but those are not really very famous neobands. If you want a big name it's a bit problematic, Just Hogarth era Marillion is a slight similarity but no more.

Quite interesting obscure band from the United Kingdom. Also Eden produced an album that sounds deceptively simple and even sometimes popish at first listen. But the overall length of some tracks (10 to 12 minutes) betrays its complexity and abundance of details when you hear it with atention. Ok, this is not your average symphonic group, although it does have some strong influences (early Genesis and Pink Floyd are the most evident). It seems to be conceptual album about loneliness.

The instrumental breaks with some fine guitar and keyboards interplays are the highlights. I also liked the emotional and sincere vocals, Huw does not have a particular strong voice but he very convincing and poignant in his delivering.The lyrics are good and certainly the CD has no fillers. The album flows very evenly. But the true gems are the last two tracks, A Widows Eyes and Photographs, both great epics where the band uses their full potential both as songwriters and players. I liked their balance between the simple and the elaborated.

In the end I found Kind Of You To Ask to be a nice surprise and Also Eden a truly promising band. If they keep working on their strong points they can be very big. My rating is somewhere between 3,5 to 4 stars that I´ll round up to full four because their tasteful and rich sound lift up my spirits today.

''About time'' opened the doors for Also Eden to become more famous and during 2007 the band had a pretty heavy schedule full of live gigs.During the lives the band even promoted material headed for their next release.However they were struck by the departure of Mark Hall and Ralvin Thomas the same year.Mark was replaced by Steve Byrne for these gigs and a more stable line-up was established later with Steve Dunn on bass and Tim Colemann on drums.The new five-piece formation recorded ''It's Kind of You to Ask'' in 2008, yet another private release by the band.

The familiar Also Eden style has not changed a bit for this album and the band offers seven mostly long compositions full of intricate lyrical performances but also plenty of space for instrumental mannerisms.The nice combination of Lloyd-Jones' brilliant voice surrounded by rich and harmonic music soundscapes is again Also Eden's highlight, giving the band a much- needed exposure among the modern Neo Prog bands.The compositions are warm, delicate, always with a tendency towards accesible melodies and a very sensitive atmosphere but filled often with strong instrumental workouts, characterized by the great guitar moves, the spacey synth layers and the organ heaviness.This time the sound is a bit more focused with the band alternating between atmospheric 70's FLOYD-ian textures and more contemporary British stylings along the lines of second-era PALLAS and MARILLION both in the guitar and keyboard parts.Especially ''A window's eye'' contains all these fine elements, compressed in 13 minutes of fascinating musicianship.

Once more some very good material by this talented UK act.Well-crafted and polished musicianship, which however still lacks for this break-through mindblowing composition which will make the band a really stunning name.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.