FALL IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD

So? who's UPF? Why their sound is so unique, experimental and pop, but yet so familiar? What we have here is the core guys from the Australian crossover/symphonic prog band Unitopia uniting forces with Guy Manning from British progressive rock act The Tangent? I guess it was an "only genius allowed" situation. Mark Trueack on vocals; Matt Williams on guitars, bass and vocals; Guy Manning on guitars, keyboards and vocals; Marek Arnold on flutes, sax, keyboards and vocals; Daniel Mash on bass and vocals; David Hopgood on drums and vocals; and Tom Irrgang on percussion? six members doing vocals? enough introduction to kind of imagine what the vocal harmonies sound like on this album. And there are a couple of guest musicians, some better known than others, including names such as Steve Hackett and Jon Anderson, to name a few.

Slightly under 70 minutes of amazing Prog music, really thoughtful and current lyrical content, and fantastic songwriting that teases with various forms of progressive rock. There are pure symphonic elements, some more heavy and metallic moments, Latin and Jazz nuances here and there, and epic and memorable hooks. Quite a journey! A lot of different instruments coexisting and delivering a great record that should never been avoided or disregarded by any Prog music lover, a lot of meat to chew, very lean meat with almost zero fat content (especially on the 21 plus minutes epic Traveling Man), a complete meal that deserves a careful and repeating listening to fully enjoy and appreciate all the ingredients and the result of their mix. Superb! My highlights are:

- Choices

- The Water

- Traveling Man