RANDOM ACTS OF BEAUTY

Hearing this album for the first time left me somewhat floored. I would have sworn that Minassian was a British artist. I would have been wrong. My experience tells me that American prog performers in general find it near impossible to avoid a bit of Country, Honky Tonk, Yee-Haa, Shuffle, some aggressive Metal coupled with bad Fusion and maybe a touch of Jazz. None of that had crept in here. Phew!

First impression was that this work was very much like one of those melancholic and somewhat mediocre Latimer's Camel with a bit of latter day's Gilmour Pink Floyd thrown in. Melancholic stuff doesn't rate very highly with me. Good enough in the background while chopping onions, or dusting the lamp shades, also a surefire way to spoil a romantic dinner on a first date.

Still, I couldn't write this album off as mediocre as there was an incling that it may eventually grow on me. And it has. There are classical elements that invoke some works of often excellent Hungarian band After Crying, also some mellotron lines remind of classic, early King Crimson.

Latimer fans will love this work, one that deserves general attention from those who don't mind cliched Prog of the better kind.