NIGHTLINES

One of the less known representatives of the Dutch Neo Prog scene, PTS were a group delivering safe progressive music during the 90's.The early line-up consisted of drummer Le Coq, bassist Marco Kerssies, keyboardist Simon Veenhius and guitarist Ron Van Kruistum.It is unknown whether the band came from Roderwolde, sure thing is the band recorded their first private CD album ''Nightlines'' in this small Dutch village with all lyrics written by Marco De Haan (later appearing as the drummer of the band).

No surprise that the band struggled to find a decent contract to sign, as the music of PTS on this debut is one of the less risky, pretty secure and straightforward Neo Prog albums from the 90's, though the progressive influence is quite evident.The production has this 80's SAGA feeling of Pomp/Arena Rock bands and the vocals are a perfect suit for a Hard Rock/AOR outfit.The music is pretty much in the vein of JADIS, decent guitar-driven Neo Prog with less care on the keyboard work and emphasis on groovy tunes with a dynamic rhythm section along with catchy choruses.All tracks follow the simple bridge-chorus-bridge type of songwriting, making PTS one of the most accesible bands of the style, though not all melodies are particularly memorable.On the other hand the vocal arrangements are nice, if you skip the less interesting side of the voice, while Van Kruistum's guitar offers plenty of great riffs and solos and ends up to be the highlight of the album.The couple of ballads contained in ''Nightlines'' are totally uninspired and without any kind of emotion, simply filling some of the CD's capacity.''The Pain Underneath'' though is a fantastic track, which just makes the rest of the album pale in comparison.

Followers of easy-listening Neo Prog with a pompous touch in the vein of JADIS, MYSTERY or SAGA might find moments of joy with ''Nightlines'', but I am afraid that is exactly as far as this album's value go.