THE LOST ART OF TIME TRAVEL

For their second album Presto Ballet found a new home on Shawn Gordon's ProgRock Records.''The lost art of time travel'' presents a vastly different line-up compared to the debut of the band, Ryan McPherson was responsible for the keyboard and piano parts, Bill Raymond was the new drummer and Israel Rehaume the new bassist.Brian Cokeley appears only on backing vocals and Caitlin Moats guests on flute.The album came out in 2008.

Presto Ballet continue on the succesful path of their debut, but the new album sounds a bit more mature and memorable with impressive riffs and solos during the powerful electric bursts and a very good keyboard work by McPherson.RUSH, KANSAS and STYX are still the main influences of the band, which swirls around the basics of 70's Heavy and Hard Rock/Prog, but there are too many elaborate themes and complicated orchestrations to be found on this work, from the quirky piano themes and the grandiose Mellotrons to the vintage organ and the flexible thematic changes.Synthesizers are mostly used to provide an extra spark on a nonetheless very emphatic and dynamic sound, but symphonic references are not absent either.They kind of remind me of SPOCK'S BEARD or TRANSATLANTIC's heavier rhythms and pieces.Scott Albright's vocals is definitely suitable to such an energetic approach, a natural-born rockin' voice.It's great to see Kurdt Vanderhoof & co. making an attempt on long, progressive tracks (three of them are close or over 10 minutes long) and still keep the gears up, at the same time the strong rhythmic parts are showered by excellent keyboard twists and tempo changes with the Retro Prog vibes waiting in every corner.

Solid Heavy Prog, solid arrangements and tunes and a high energy level.These guys can rock and still provide the listener with progressive components.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.