GARDEN OF THE MOON

With their third album, the sound of Lana Lane continued to evolve towards ever higher dimensions. Taking a bit longer to write this time, the material is again very strong. The opening instrumental River Of The Stars is really part one of Garden Of The Moon (the closing track). This is one of Erik Norlander's best instrumental pieces and it has been preformed live both with Lana Lane and in an expanded version with Norlander's own Galactic Collective. Between these instrumental bookends, we get some powerful vocal numbers, filled with strong melodies, great guitar and keyboard solos, and varied moods. Songs like Destination Roswell and Evolution Revolution do have choruses that are almost too catchy for my tastes, but only almost. My personal favourite here is the wonderful Under The Olive Tree. (If there is anything at all to complain about here it is the lyrics that occasionally can be a little bit cheesy.)

While this album is by no means radially different from the previous one, it is certainly more consistent and more accomplished. The band did not undergo any revolution, just a constant evolution. I think there is once more a broader palette of sounds on this album, including more acoustic guitars, and even more varied keyboard sounds. The sonic quality of the album is very high.

Another great Lana Lane album!