TICK TOCK

After three rather tentative albums to start their career, GAZPACHO exploded on to the modern prog scene with the stunning 'Night', a deceptively simple but deeply rich concept album that virtually redefined the concept of 'flow'. Hopes have been high for this, their follow-up to 'Night'. Hopes, I am happy to say, that have been realised with this release.

In my opinion GAZPACHO have left the field of contemporary neo-prog floundering in their wake. Most people think of neo-prog as somehow 'dumbed down' from classic prog rock, but that view is too simplistic. What GAZPACHO offer us with 'Tick Tock', as they did with 'Night', is the extended development of a theme. A simple, repetitive rhythm - as implied by the album's title - sets the foundation for the most delicious of slow builds, as the musical tension is ever so slowly wound up. There's no wild dynamics as one experiences with bands like OPETH - acoustic guitar one moment, a volcano of sound the next - instead we are engaged with a carefully plotted journey, a clicking, insistent train ride where the scenery slowly becomes more dramatic, narrated by Ohme's syrupy voice. Male voice choirs, the occasional thunder of drums and rumble of power chords: these punctuate the journey but are not stopping places. Despite the limited canvas, particularly of the rhythm, the emotional impact of this album is no less than that of much more dramatic work.

At first listen 'Tick Tock' sounds banal. It is certainly not easy to penetrate. It has the feel of a space-rock record, almost ambient in places, and there are fewer hooks here than in 'Night'. The key to this album is perseverance, which is why I'm so glad it is less than fifty minutes long. No self-indulgence here. The album is substantially two songs, The Walk and Tick Tock (note how both titles imply repetitive rhythm), and both are epic. They are bookended by two more accessible tracks, the heavier 'Desert Flight' and the beautiful 'Winter is Never'. But because of the repetitive rhythmical motif, the album's tracks flow together to make identifying particular moments of brilliance less important than the overall feel of the record.

And in the end that's what matters. This record may or may not be as good as 'Night' - I'm not sure yet - but it is a fine thing nonetheless, carefully crafted, a rewarding emotional journey and an all-too-rare masterpiece of modern prog. Those who enjoy their music with subtlety and flow are in for a treat.

We have strange monster with the newest album by Gazpacho; and this strange monster collect so much perfect votes until now. I'm truly surprised by the fact. We listen to a mixture by pop rock, alternative rock, arab folk music and so on..., but than where is progressive rock in this album. I cannot find it; I cannot find even hard rock or classic rock. I don't want to say this is a bad album. Probably this is very good album for fans, but its make me bored. Objectively, Tick Tock isn't for others, than fans. The first half is better than the second. I name the first song - Desert Flight as the bast of the album, despite I don't like alternative rock... 2.5 stars

Brash guitars institute the beginning of Gazpacho's latest recording, the much-awaited follow up to the stunning predecessor "Night" that caught many fans by surprise, as the "Desert Flight" weaves raunchily forward, proving that, at the very least, this Norwegian band has indeed "progressed". Skillfully gloomy and at times even radiant while retaining their core moody style, Jan-Arne Vilbo's axe rages in rapt fury within a vortex of expressive keyboard swaths , the bass propelling and the drums flailing. A gentle violin caresses the pain; the piano laments the wind as it heads over the sizzling dunes. The two part "The Walk" retrieves the familiar vocal pleadings of vocalist Jan-Erik Ohme , recalling Mark Hollis at times with occasional obvious winks at Steve Hoggarth. A suave mandolin only adds to the thrill, a superb melody blooms from the grooves, a masterful moment that evokes the deepest emotions. Some Kashmirian tendencies come across, courtesy of that amazing violin, the distinctive element that makes Gazpacho such a unique pleasure and a delightful sonic joyride. The music knows how to breathe, requiring eloquent contrast and surprising Middle Eastern tendencies to complement the palette, veering into supple atmospherics of some North African bazaar when you least expect it. The second part goes into an altogether different direction, still a hypnotic magic carpet ride but with massive waves of mellotron, a simpler environment to reconnoiter, the undemonstrative guitars buzzing "en sourdine" like a wispy opiate cloud swirling towards the clear blue sky. The Hoggarth feel is there again, as Ohme gets fervent and frenzied. The 3 part title track targets a timeless horizon, a dreamy, almost muffled arrangement that leisurely builds in determined splendor, the percussive Tick-Tock always present to keep the pulse within echoing keys and poignantly strummed guitar strings. The Mark Hollis inspiration reveals itself now quite clearly, as the simmering axe forages with impetuous distinction, Ohme urging the clock along . Very original and very progressive, to say the least. When the massed male choir arrives unannounced, it becomes obvious that we are in the presence of something momentous, extraordinarily reserved yet growing ever so confidently, the harsh guitar blasting through the haze, the loopy bass seemingly out of control, the piano murmuring softly, the minimalist Tick-Tock still present, this musical osmosis is simply magical. When the bass settles into a comfortable groove, the second part really exposes its true virtue as a glowing expression of raw emotion, the growling guitar contrasting brilliantly with the polyrhythmic mélange. This is some of the most introspective, cinematographic prog I have heard in quite some time, when the violin enters the fray, one can only close their eyes and sway to the singular beauty of such grandiose music. Still the Tick-Tock reappears from the mist, always smoldering in the backwash, never gone, mesmerizing. Part 3 injects some deft piano textures, whooshing mellotron strings, exploding guitar lines, as the colossal wall of sound rolls forward like a lumbering steam engine, lush controlled fury within the deepest chasm of unexpected celestial valleys and unexplored mountains. Simply astounding yet completely unpredictable and never monotonous as the ticking finally fades into the fog of memory. "Winter is Never" acts as a lullaby, gently easing this incredible musical vessel into a glorious finale, a rapture of haunting melancholia that has all the yearnings of hope, despair and finality. Ohme's sublime vocal climbs an octave with scintillating resolve, a moment of sheer, unadulterated ecstasy. The cold soup is still very spicy and quenches the progressive thirst and hunger. What can possibly come next? 5 glorious heartbeats

A concept album based on the book ("Wind, Sand And Stars") by Antoine Di Saint-Exupey, which was about his real life long distance flight from Paris to Saigon in 1935 that ended with him crashing in a desert. Listening to this album with this in mind really adds to the music considerably. The title "Tick Tock" is a metaphor for the walking that this man and his co-pilot did through the desert. Check out the lyrics though, this is brilliantly done. And the music like on the amazing "Night" album is so lush and atmospheric. Just a pleasure to get lost in these soundscapes. I was reminded a lot of latter day MARILLION only i'd say GAZPACHO do it better. I actually wasn't surprised to see tszirmay's review of this album earlier today because this strange but cool kind of synergy seems to happen between us a lot. In fact I looked up my review of "Night" and noticed his review was right after mine (only 2 weeks later). We travel in the same Prog space without even knowing it. Great to have a friend like him.

"Desert Flight" opens with jarring guitars as vocals then drums arrive. Synths and some killer bass before a minute. Mellotron before 2 minutes as it settles. Lots of atmosphere before 4 minutes.The tempo starts to pick up 6 minutes in. Then it dies (they crash) with violin and piano a minute later as the wind blows. I have to say that for me this album gets better as it plays out which is such a cool thing. "The Walk" is very MARILLION-like early with percussion, reserved vocals and acoustic guitar. Mellotron before 3 minutes. Violin a minute later. An atmospheric calm 5 minutes in. It turns to a Middle Eastern flavour after 6 minutes.The second part of "The Walk" is similar to the first part but even better with the strummed guitar and mellotron being more prominant. Great lyrics here too as he sings about the struggle to survive in this walk through the desert. "The long haul back in no direction and no one knows were ok. And the curve of the horizon a masterpiece, survival on adreneline it's over soon. Doesn't everyone have their own walk to walk".

"Tick Tock" is the incredible 22 1/2 minute title track that's divided into three parts. A tick tock-like rhythm as vocals come in. Amazing sound ! Lots of atmosphere. A fuller sound 4 minutes in. A sudden burst of a male choir upon the soundscape before 6 minutes is a nice touch. In part two the drums and bass are heavier. Piano joins in. Such an uplifting sound after 2 1/2 minutes. It settles after 5 1/2 minutes but you can still hear the tick tock as it builds. It turns even quieter before 8 minutes. Flute and tons of atmosphere 9 1/2 minutes in. Part three comes in and the song comes to life with the tick tock, drums, bass and piano. The guitar sounds great 1 1/2 minutes in. The tempo and mood continue to shift. Emotional section. Mellotron 3 minutes in. Check out the lyrics in this part: "You silence every love, yet you always starve for more, your'e only waiting time, lucky to be alive, lucky to be alive". "Winter Is Never" is pure emotion for me, the triumphant conclusion. Man he sounds like Hogarth here.

4 stars.

GAZPACHO's new concept album worked out with profound songwriting skills once more and focussed on Jan-Henrik Ohme's sensitive vocals as usual. The band remains on the common melancholic, heart-wrenching attitude reminding me of the band 'Talk Talk' here and there, where the opener Desert Flight makes out the exception with a more heavy rocking behaviour in the whole. The well accentuated use of cello, flute and piano/organ/Mellotron adds is bringing richness to the sound.

The starting song fades into the first part of the epic The Walk consisting of a fine floating part with an oriental feeling - very impressing. By the way - this is an example that GAZPACHO's music is even working without O's vocals being dominant always. A tick-tock is present all over on the title track of course. Here we have a tension-filled epic full of diversified ingredients mixing up rocking, grooving, spacey floating, atmospheric and balladesque parts in a convincing way - chamber/opera impressions (cello, vocals) and Mellotron included. Winter is Never finally appears with melancholy pure initiated by a surprising electronical touch.

GAZPACHO again prove the ability to compose subtle well structured songs. It looks like they are having an unexhaustible reservoir of ideas and inspiration. All the instruments are perfectly appointed without any exception. This album is full of wonderful melodic themes suitable for laid back situations in your life. 4 stars because of the title track masterpiece which at least should be tried out with headphones on.

Now with "Tick Tock" I must admit that "Night" was a Masterpiece!

GAZPACHO have been playing that boring type of soft 'Hogart's Marillion' Neo-Prog for almost ten years, but most of us heard them only two years ago with sensational "Night " release. Simple and emotional, it had the magical element which made it so adorable: atmosphere. The album was so atmospheric, that most new age releases would sound like sludgy grindcore in compareness to it. Yes, I'm kinda joking, but only 'kinda'. GAZPACHO decided to repeat the formula, and made another atmospheric epic album, almost the same way boring and plain. But this time it does't work - at least, for me. There'll be no "Night" magic this time, it's all too predictable and flat. Only 2 stars and a strong recommendation to start with "Night" if you're GAZPACHO newbie

Gazpacho's 2009 release is a hard album to get into because it is such a sedated one. The rock sections are all mid-tempo and not very heavy, but sound extremely good nonetheless; unfortunately they are all fleeting, as though Gazpacho gets short-winded just playing a few minutes of bona fide rock music. I also question the progressive factor: There may be extravagantly lengthy compositions, but I see no reason for this, since the arrangements themselves are dull and generally unexciting, but not completely characterless. The piece of nonfiction this concept album is based on, however, beefs up the intrigue for me: Antoine de Saint Exupéry, a French writer and aviator, wrote Wind, Sand, and Stars, a memoir regarding surviving a plane crash in the Libyan Sahara Desert and having to do without food and water. Perhaps it's the intent of the album as it relates to its concept to force the listener to spend long periods of time growing weary and waiting for something to happen- I don't know- but this album is a desert of wearisome monotony with precious few oases of interestingness.

"Desert Flight" A raunchy, harsh guitar kicks off this album. This song has a bit of a U2 feel and sound to it, whether the band is playing loudly or quietly. That said, I don't care for it except for perhaps the vocal melody. Lonely violin, piano and a hot wind conclude this first track.

"The Walk" Sparse instrumentation takes over in this lengthy piece, which features simplistic drumming and acoustic guitar. The mandolin is gorgeous, I think, and fits the timbre of the piece well. I absolutely love the hazy Middle Eastern section, which is so full of grace and character. For the most part, this piece is a beautiful acoustic song that doesn't really go anywhere (not even on a magic carpet), which for me makes the length a tad unjustified. That, however, is the main problem of the forthcoming piece.

"Tick Tock" Subdued and rather dull, this longest piece has the lead vocalist singing long and drawn out notes over fairly sparse instrumentation for the first several minutes. Later, there's some deep choral singing, almost from the throat. The ticking and tocking keep time as the singer croons over piano and bright guitar and bass. The music becomes somewhat heavier with the introduction of gritty electric guitar and thudding bass, yet the drums remain light. Organ and violin ease their way into the mix in a lovely duet, punctuated by pounding drums. Soon a guitar solo ensues, followed by otherworldly atmospheric sounds. The titular tick tocks return, again accompanying a piano. Essentially, I find this a very sleepy track, even though there's some good stuff going on. Nothing strikes me as powerful or interesting, even if I find it all pleasant enough.

"Winter Is Never" Again, this is an agreeable song, but after everything that has come before it, it's superfluous and almost filler.

Tick Tock is the 6th outing by Norwegian act Gazpacho, and the first of their albums I've had a chance to experience.

And as experiences go it is a pretty charming one. Musically they come across as something of a blend between Hogarth-era Marillion and Radiohead in my ears - symphonic backdrops and tapestries on top of music at least partially with strong tinges of indie/alternative rock of the kind spearheaded by Radiohead and later followed up by acts such as Muse and to some extent Coldplay.

With space-tinged floating synths and sounds, Arabian inspired details on the composition The Walk and some neat inclusiojns of Norwegian folk music on the following excursion and title track Tick Tock these additional details provide good variety in style as well as sound. Final track Winter Is Never is more of a laid-back venture without truly distinct features, but serves it purpose well to end the album.

Lots of charm and atmosphere on this one, and while not quite at the highest level in my view it's a very strong effort, constantly flirting with superiority.

I Don't Know Why We Don't Explode

The album is 4 songs long, but the CD is split into 7 tracks - The Walk is split into 2 parts and Tick Tock into 3.

If one had heard their last outing, Night, the opening to Tick Tock might be a bit of a shocker. My first thoughts upon hearing it was that it sounded something like an indy rocker - driving guitars and drums interplay with the vocals. But this is just Gazpacho building atmosphere again, if in a different way than they did on the previous album. The album is about the attempted long distance flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his crash in the desert. As such, the harder rocking opening is likely his flight. After he crashes and starts wandering the desert, the album comes closer to the atmospheric sound that the band accomplished in Night.

I can't really say too much about this album without recapping my review of Night; the two both take a very similar approach to the music. In terms of atmosphere, Tick Tock is a bit more airy and spacey, and makes more use of middle-eastern sounding instruments (unfortunately, I am not an expert on instruments, but that is the feeling that I get from them). The spacey bit at the end of The Walk, part 1 could easily sound like a throwaway, but I quite enjoy it ... it really does give me a feel of walking in the desert.

Ultimately, I would say that Tick Tock is equally as good as Night. Another excellent album.

I generally have a highly critical approach to follow-up releases. In most cases it has to do with the fact that bands don't progress once they attain a certain level of success or that they take an entirely different route just to relieve the pressure of a worthy follow-up. Of course there are times when the artists manage to evolve and push things even further in the development of their sound but unfortunately those events are rare and far between. Tick Tock doesn't fit in any of these categories.

Once Desert Flight kicked in I was certain that I was in for a real treat! The track didn't sound anything like material from Night, so did that mean that Gazpacho tried to take an easy way out by going for follow-up approach nr.2? To my surprise the rest of the album didn't contain another up-tempo track but what I got instead was equally surprising.

The Walk part I with its beautiful melody basically took my breath away from the first time I heard it. This type of strong melodic content was missing entirely on the previous release and to be honest it was one of the things I wasn't expecting from Gazpacho. With the introduction of The Walk: Part II the album finally shifted into familiar territory but somehow these compositions aren't as memorable.

The title track starts out rather shaky with an unimpressive part I but definitely redeems itself towards parts II & III which ends with a real bang. The concluding track Winter Is Never is a return to the new territory that was explored on The Walk part I and offers a good conclusion to the album's theme.

I expected the atmospheric middle section of Tick Tock to grow on me as much as their previous album did after a few spins but this time it nearly took me double the effort to get the material to a somewhat satisfying level. To be honest I'm still uncertain about my feelings towards the Tick Tock-suite but it's certain that the result here aren't of the top notch quality.

This album basically works when the band tries something different while the more familiar work is below the level of what they have achieved previously. It's an unusual combination that I surprisingly enough rank at the same level as Night. There is a definite progress but at the cost of the overall quality.

***** star songs: Desert Flight (7:39) The Walk: Part I (8:03)

**** star songs: The Walk: Part II (5:39) Tick Tock: Part II (9:39) Tick Tock: Part III (5:30) Winter Is Never (4:55)

*** star songs: Tick Tock: Part I (7:17)

While a pleasant listen, this album needs careful, attentive listening to be truly appreciated--which, then, becomes its downfall: When not listened to carefully, this album can become very boring, the lead singer's voice very tedious and whiney. So: if you have the time, sit down, put on the headphones and enjoy a very well put together album; If you aren't going to be able to concentrate and give it your fullest attention, better to avoid it and wait for time when you can. All songs are good, though the Tick Tock trilogy is my favorite (if you can listen to it in its entirety). Nice subtle effects and shifts in sound and mood, even if the vocals get a little monotonous. Not the highs of "Night," but not the lows either. Tough for me to rate. 3.5 stars would be most accurate.

2015 edit: This album was my introduction to Gazpacho. It has grown quite a bit on me over the years. As slow and delicate is the progress through this album, I do find myself listening start to finish and thoroughly enjoying the subtle surprises as they reveal themselves. Therefore, I am reconsidering my rating and elevating Tick Tock to four stars. It is one of the two Gazpacho albums I have formed a great attachment for and appreciation of.

It blew me away at first spin

I know very little about this band except its appearance in the Mariilion DVD and I straightly thought that this band is a pure Marillion's copy cat - the Hogarth era. But I was not interested to find any of their albums until a friend of mine introduced me this album. I was surprised that I liked it very much at the first spin of the album. This is strange as I was a big fan of Mariilion (Fish era) and did not quite favor the Hogarth era, initially. But how come I liked this album at first spin - knowing the fact that this is a copy cat band. I thought it was two reasons: First, I did not expect quite much what kind of music the band (Gazpacho) would play so I had no preconceived mid abou what the music 'should' sound like. Second, it might be the influence of Marillion Higarth era music that in a way had made me like this kind of music. Indeed, I like Marillion's "Marbles".

The rockin' opening 'Desert Flight' (7:39) set an excellent tone of the overall album. I lately found that the following tracks did not quite follow the music style of opening track. But I truly love the way guitar is playde in riff style combined with powerful vocal line. 'The Walk' is a good follow-up segment that definitely takes its time and as such it is bringing us to the kind of atmosphere to the next album title that serves as epic. Leave it alone, this is a nice track with ambient style, reminds me to the Hogarth style in singing.

The title track 'Tick Tock' which serves as an epic comprises three major parts whom all of them are interesting to enjoy. Part 1 has a good guitar work with powerful vocals combined with atmospheric keyboard / synthesizer work and sound effects. The song moves with gentle drums augmented with echoed sounds of synthesizer followed with a nice piano and guitar melody. Part 2 opens with a guitar riff and solid bass-line with some excellent keyboard and followed with piano. There are nice soundscapes demonstrated through this song. Part 3 starts with inventive piano and drum, combined with excellent vocal line. Overall this is an excellent epic.

The concluding track 'Winter Is Never' is a straightforward, beautifully composed and quite easy to digest. The keys of the song lie on its piano melody with a good vocal from Jan-Henrik. I personally like the chorus part. This song concludes the album beautifully as this song is excellent as well.

I highly recommend you to have this excellent album from Gazpacho, especially if you laike Hogarth era of Marillion. But if you are not Marillion's fan, I still recommend you to have this album in your prog collection. Keep on proggin' ...!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

7/10

"Tick Tock" is another little gem of 2009.

Gazpacho is a Norwegian Progressive Rock band that has been around for fifteen years now, but have released albums since 2002. "Tick Tock" is the band's sixth studio album, following the acclaimed "Night". This being my first Gazpacho album, I can't be too opinionated about this band. But so far, I enjoy what I hear.

The production of the album is good, and the mixing is great, with perfect balance between all the instruments. In all the songs the instruments are played without one being the more used than the others; there is a lot of guitar, but also keyboards and mellotron, and of course the vocals are always present. The best and most comfortable label to attribute to the music in this album is prog rock, with a lot of alt-rock tendencies and even some post-rock here and there. Not to forget the pretty noticeable Arabic music influences on the track "The Walk". Gazpacho reminds me a lot of times of Phideaux Xavier, especially on the vocals, but I also hear a lot of electronic, and some times it gets almost ambient.

The album has a solid structure: four songs, the two in the center are extremely long ones. All the songs here have a very progressive structure too, having a countless amount of hook variations, that just extend in a way that post-rock is very familiar to. There is some building, but mostly, the songs just constantly change in melody and hooks, slowly and without changing abruptly the mood, which is almost always chilled out and relaxed but somewhat warm. Think of it like a special kaleidoscope where the color remains the same and the shapes change slowly. This of course can be said especially of the two longest songs, "The Walk" and the twenty two minute title track. This song, I don't know why, is the reason why I didn't fully appreciate "Tick Tock": maybe some parts had some flaws, like the church like chorus in the first half of the track, which sounds really cool but seems a little out of place to me. Plus, it isn't always haunting like it intended to be, in my opinion. However, "The Walk" is nearly flawless, and I enjoy almost everything about it, especially the Arabesque parts and the keyboards. The remaining songs are fantastic as well: the opener "Desert Flight" is the heaviest song, with tons of guitar, but it's another haunting and delightful episode, especially when it gets to the second half of the song, where there's an amazing hook change. The track that contains the most beauty has to be the last song, "Winter Is Never", with great keys and vocals, a very moving and touching piece of music.

An album that has some weaker points, some points that I simply wasn't crazy for, but I enjoyed it anyways, in almost all the fifty minute lesson. If you're into modern prog and want to hear something a little different from the usual Porcupine Tree, Flower Kings, Anathema of whatever, this is a way to go.

Inspired by the true story of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's infamous plane crash in the Libyan desert and the epic trek he and his co-pilot undertook in search of help, Gazpacho's followup to the classic Night isn't as impressive as a cohesive concept piece, but it does show the band in the act of diversifying their sound a little. For instance, opening number Desert Flight is heavier and rockier than anything on Night, and shows a bit of a Muse influence creeping into the music. On the whole, I think the album suffers a little from trying a bit too hard to replicate the approach of Night in places, but it's another convincing piece from Gazpacho which is enough to convince that the musical growth seen on Night wasn't a mere fluke.

This 2009 release is well worth investing in. I bought the download a while ago but only in the last 4 months gave it the proper attention it deserved. Whilst agreeably sitting within Crossover on PA, there is no doubt this band have a post rock feel to them. The music has a steady drone to it which steadily increases in tempo and then predictably subsides. I really feel the band have all the right boxes ticked here, both musically and vocally. There is wealth of solid drumming by Robert Johansen, jagged jarring guitars and Ohmes beautiful vocals

The album is inspired by the book Wind, Sands & Stars by Antoine Di Saint Exupey. Flight traversing deserts end in crashing in the desert and the trek out of it on foot. The album starts with the uneven ' Desert Flight', " the Walk' and ' Tick Tock' made up of parts provide 35 minutes of atmospheric bliss, reaching crescendos, ebbing and flowing, constantly sucking the listener back into the sound. Very hypnotic music. I have probably played this album most this year and being such an excellent slow burner, I have progressively discovered more and more gems within the material. The final track ' Winter is Never' is arguably the most accessible and melancholic of the lot. Such an incredible album closer. If you like Gazpacho you will also enjoy another fellow Norwegian band, coincidentally called Soup. Some reviewers have compared Gazpacho to latter day Marillion, they definitely have a Radiohead influence especially due to Ohme's vocal style being similar to Yorke's but not as manic! And additionally a touch of Muse thrown in as well. Highly recommended piece of work, four and a half stars without doubt.

On 30th December 1935, after 19 hours and 44 minutes in the air, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and his mechanic-navigator André Prévot, crashed in the Sahara desert whilst attempting to break the speed record in a Paris-to-Saigon air race. They both survived the crash, but with only rudimentary maps and very little supplies they were in serious trouble. Luckily, after four days they were discovered by a Bedouin, who saved their lives. This near brush with death features prominently in Saint-Exupéry's 1939 memoir 'Wind, Sand and Stars', and in turn forms the basis of this the sixth album from Norwegian act Gazpacho. Released in 2009 his album seems to have fairly polarized opinions with many strong and positive reviews, but also plenty from those who can't understand what all the fuss is about.

They are obviously influenced by Hogarth-era Marillion and Radiohead, along with Muse and Porcupine Tree but by the far the most interesting style included here are the short Arabian-style passages. For the most part this album is just too one-dimensional to maintain interest and each time I have played it I have found myself looking at the screen to see just how much longer there is left to play as I want to get onto something more interesting. The musicianship and vocals are very good, and it is well recorded and produced, but for me it is just too flat and ultimately is plain boring. I found the story it is based on, and the short biographies I read of Antoine de Saint- Exupéry far more interesting than the musical result. www.gazpachoworld.com