RE:GENERATOR

Lush though simple Neo Prog in the PINK FLOYD tradition from recently reunited UK progsters Third Quadrant, there is a definite 1980s vibe to some of the sounds and stylings here, but the songs are all pure ear candy for any retro-prog fans. One of the two lead vocalists has a distinctive familiarity to his voice--he sounds like the wonderful lead singer from JOHNNY HATES JAZZ, Clark DATCHLER. All songs are decent, if fairly simple--not unlike Tony PATTERSON's 2016 offering, Equations of Meaning though not nearly of the same skill, polish or effect. I am not fond of the use of these late-80s sounding dated keyboards--and the first two minutes of the opening song, "Bell:106" and of the album centerpeice, "Deadstar:1" as well as the entire closing number are almost purely space/electronica soundtrack filler.

1. "Bell:106" (6:51) sounds like a lost 1970s PINK FLOYD song. I love the bass and keyboard work, but the vocals are bit too close to Floydian precedents. (9/10)

2. "Carbon:14" (6:45) finds me really attracted to the bass play and the familiar tone of the lead vocalist. (9/10)

3. "62:miles" (4:25) piano-based sounds like it's still in a demo state; could have been developed more. (7/10)

4. "Page:217" (5:59) has some nice melodic moments. (8/10)

5. "Deadstar:1" (19:01) is obviously meant to be the album's centrepiece. Unfortunately, once one gets past the opening 2:20 space music intro, the band's 80s roots becomes quite evident in the sounds and styles used. Also made very obvious with this song is the rather poor engineering and production skills and/or equipment used for this album. At 19 minutes in length, I have to admit that I found this one to be a great disappointment; it made me feel as if I had wasted twenty minutes of my life. (6/10) 6. "3:arth" (3:36) is fairly nice background space music; nothing special. (7/10)

Great potential here as these gifted composers seem to need more time and effort to go into the development and production of their songs.