FAIRLY CAREFREE

Since the release of their excellent debut album, 'Mantelpeace', there have been a few changes in the Realisea camp, so while Brian de Graeve (vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar), Marjolein de Graeve (vocals) and Christophe Rapenne (keyboards) are still involved, all the other core members have left. This has provided an opportunity for Jos Uffing, former drummer and vocalist of Silhouette where he of course played with Brian, to renew his relationship while there is a new bassist in Jos Uffing and guitarist in Rindert Bul. There are again a large number of guests, and one can see previous bassist Geoffrey de Graeve has a presence, while any album which involves Ton Scherpenzeel is always going to be high class.

I find it hard to believe that the only review of theirs currently listed on the bible which is PA is mine, and no-one has yet to write about this one, as yet again we have a dynamic and driving prog album which is a delight from beginning to end. Again they have been influenced by the likes of Renaissance, but the use of keyboards and rock guitars throw them at times deeply into Neo territory yet there is also often a lightness and pop mentality which makes them feel much more in Crossover, yet always with dynamics and drive which make this such an exciting album to listen to. Brian has a huge reputation in the scene due to everything he has achieved with Silhouette, yet I find it really hard to understand why Realisea do not seem to have had the same major impact as this album is simply delicious throughout. We drop into folk at times, with 'Just Pretending' simply beautiful with Marjolein taking the opportunity to show her vocal talents, and for the band to demonstrate they fully understand the use of dynamics and space to create something quite different.

It is a highly polished album, packed full of class where the listener gets more from it every time they play it. Yes, there are plenty of Neo stylings here and there, which do seem to upset some prog purists, but for anyone who was involved in the underground scene as I was in the Nineties will find a great deal here to enjoy as this is a delight from beginning to end and is one I highly recommend to anyone who likes the genre.

Out of the ashes of SILHOUETTE rises the new Crossover/NeoProg band Realisea. Though this is the band's second outing, there has been a paring down of core membership and now new replacements--the most significant being the participation of one of the busiest veterans of the Dutch Prog scene, keyboard genius Ton Scherpenzeel (Kayak, Rick Van Der Linden, Europe, Camel, Earth and Fire, Kajem, Flairck, Youp van 't Hek, Kinderen voor Kinderen).

1. "I Could Never Learn" (11:17) decent sound on a decent construct, the performances, however often sound a little lackluster and uninspired. Also, the engineering feels unfinished, unpolished. There are definitely Some good ideas and nice passages but, unfortunately, the song just seems to plod along too long, singing about faithfulness to one another while using a palette of rather weak and prosaic English vocabulary with which to do so (with a repetition that makes me question the couple's true faithfulness: I mean, if they have to keep repeating their promise to one another ad nauseam, you start to wonder, right?). (17.33333/20)

2. "Cracked Colorite" (6:28) (8.667/10) 3. "Your Lies" (4:15) (8.5/10)) 4. "Just Pretending" (3:59) (8.75/10) 5. "Out in the Cold" (7:26) (12.75/15) 6. "Sheltered" (5:36) interesting construct and ideas, just, again, poorly realised. (8.666667/10)

7. "Trilemma" (15:16) the potential is here, the sounds are proggy enough, it's just that the ideas, both musically and lyrically--are too mundane and stale--as is the vocal performance of lead singer Marjolein de Graeve (she just sounds so disinterested and tired). As a matter of fact, the best thing to happen in the entire album is the brief flash of instrumental fire in the eighth minute when the guitars and instrumentalists burst into full-speed for a few seconds. The rest of this is just too saccharine, too simplistic, too tired and old. It's hard to believe that if these band members are prog veterans that they're truly excited about the musical ideas they're expressing in this album. (25/30)

8. "Malgré les vagues" (5:15) an oddly mixed blend of folk sounds/instruments with heavier prog instrumentation yields a palette of sound that feels almost at odds with each other; it just doesn't work!--which is too bad since this song is meant to celebrate family in the wake of the insufferable trials and errors of the Pandemic. (8.66667/10)

Total Time 59:32

The music, both compositionally and from a sound engineering perspective, just seems rather loose, by-the-numbers, and, if I must say, lazy (especially in the vocals of Marjolein de Graeve); the entire album is replete with sloppy performances, editing, and engineering--as if the band just wanted to get through their studio time as quickly as possible (not because they were feeling rushed--though this might have been the case with the studio engineers and/or producers). I find this unfortunate since the band has an overall-nice NeoProg sound (despite sounding as if they haven't really come out of the 1990s--either musically or technologically). Plus, the lyrics are quite banal and seem to be repeating the same themes over and over. This album constitutes what I feel is a substandard product. I hate it when I feel cheated of my time--time I'll never be able to get back--but, unfortunately, this is one of those album listening experiences that make me feel just this. In my opinion, prog veterans as anemic as this should just unplug their cables and mics rather than keep tormenting us with tired, old sounds and ideas that have been rehashed hundreds of times.

C/three stars; a less-than exciting collection of tired old prog that any prog lover would be hard pressed to sit through in a single sitting.