REALM OF POSSIBILITIES

1. "Realm of Possibilities" (4:00) A great opener; a song that really prepares the listener for the kind of styles and quality sound that this album is all about. There is a cool RIVERSIDE feel to this music--and to the engineering and production--and yet there are hints at other important bands as well. (9.3333/10)

2. "Cruel Immission" (7:32) background atmospherics open this one before acoustic guitars establish a gentler, more sensitive LUNATIC SOUL-like approach to this one. Once Nicolas Duke enters with his singing voice the song becomes pure STEVEN WILSON--very much deserving to fit in among SW's great Hand. Cannot. Erase. album. I particularly love the spread out spaciousness of the instrumental and sound palette here--even in the middle instrumental section where the number and type of instruments thicken the sonic field there is still an easy separation over the atmospheric background. Nicolas' more-aggressive "metal" style singing voice is employed for the song's heavier second half. He's good! It's powerful! It works! (14/15)

3. "Only You" (3:44) opens like a grungy TOOL-like "pop" song (a stylistic thing Steven Wilson was fond of doing in his Porcupine Tree years). The catchy, melodic chorus definitely confirms that this could be intended as a radio-play-oriented song. Solid, well -constructed and -performed. (9/10)

4. "No Exit" (5:47) another opening that is almost lifted straight from a few SW/PT songs: guitar notes and close-whispered singing voice. Eventually drums and all kinds of incidental keyboard-generated sounds are thrown into the soundscape until 2:25 when the chorus leaps off the ground into your ears to worm its way into permanent residence. The second "verse" section also borrows from SW with the "mega-phone"-treated vocal, but then we're back into that AMAZING chorus! You've got me wrapped around your little finger! (So like Steven Wilson!) The little synth-solo in the trite little instrumental section at the end is almost a footnote. (9.5/10)

5. "Liquid Feels I" (3:52) with all of these Steven Wilson references I find myself reminded of two things: 1) what a genius Steven Wilson is and 2) how much I like that 2010-2015 period of Steven's discography. The deep bass play on this one is cool as are the idiosyncratic (and restrained) drums. Like something from The Raven That Refused to Sing with a little of TOOL/Maynard James Keenan's theatricity. (9/10)

6. "Liquid Feels II" (4:30) the TOOLish instrumental follow-up to Part I. I like the jazzier motif in the third minute the best. Is that a ChapmanStick performing the bass parts? The heavier, more distorted sound of the fourth minute is not as pleasing, but they come out of it for the finish, which is nice. (8.875/10)

7. "Broken Arrow" (5:41) this one feels like a classic PETER GABRIEL song like "Digging in the Dirt" (especially the vocal) only with a little heavier instrumental palette for the foundational fabric. A little STYX-like keyboard work in the final section makes it interesting. Somehow this song just doesn't feel "finished" or "hear-felt." (8.75/10)

8. "Strangled" (4:02) like a heavier, more forceful SW song. A little too monochromatic and simple to garner any awards or accolades. I think this is one of those songs that are quite dependent on the lyrical message being delivered. (8.75/10)

9. "Fractal" (7:55) another song that sounds as if it could come directly off of one of Steven Wilson's early solo albums--Grace for Drowning or The Raven That Refused to Sing. Some nice synth soloing in the fourth minute feels as if it needs something else from the music--a shift of some sort, even a subtle one. Suddenly, in the second half of the same fourth minute the music as a whole takes a left turn down a path of cautious, secretiveness. It's very interesting, engaging, and well-constructed: good solid entertainment. Nicolas returns to singing in the seventh minute as the quirky-jerky weave of syncopated instrumental lines beneath him slowly, subtly intensify all the way to the end of the song. Nice vocal performance--especially in that intense finish. (13.375/15)

10. "Under Control" (6:23) modern yet somehow rooted in some 1980s New Wave effects. Interesting! Even the way Nicolas' voice is reverbed harkens back to some kind of 1980s Talk Talk-Mark Hollis sound. I'm not complaining, just remarking! I like hearing this "cover" of a Talk Talk sound! In the middle of the fourth minute the song shifts a few times: whispered vocals, "Tainted Love"inspired instrumental work, just a beautiful master class in blending multifarious and subtle elements and sounds from classic 1980s songs! Very, very cool! If the melodies and words a little more compelling this would be a great song. As it is it's still a song that I look forward to hearing a lot in the future! (9.25/10)

11. "The Cell" (16:02) NO! You're not going to "Perfect Life" for source material, are you? (Or is it "Routine"?) It's so well done and yet it's almost too much! The elements and qualities similar to RIVERSIDE also come shining through the further we get into the song, but the unrelenting cruise control speed exhibited from the rhythm track is more akin to some of Steven's longer tunes (as well as Pink Floyd's "tribute to Disco" "Run Like Hell"). Even when the four-chord vamp is reconstituted into "symphonic" synthesizer form for the thirteenth and fourteenth minutes it retains the same insistent forward momentum. It's well done though almost one dimensional and, again, a little too imitative of other artists' works. (26.375/30)

12. "When the Wind Blows" (6:00) why not end the album with yet one more Steven Wilson-styled song--this one feeling quite similar to the album's song #4, "No Exit," only a more acoustic version (including brushed drums and fairly untreated-multi-voice vocals). Mellotron joins the soundscape in the fourth minute, pulling the song toward another era of music, but Nicolas "SW" Duke remains true to his imitation of his 21st Century hero right to the end. (8.75/10)

Total Time 75:28

I find myself really torn when pondering how to rate and extoll this album: it's so derivative of Steven Wilson's work and yet it's so well done--each song reminding me how much I really like and appreciate the music and genius of Steven as well as confirming that there is room for more music like his, and yet, I'm always hoping for a little more originality to come through with the creations that a band chooses to release for public consumption.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of high-quality Steven Wilson-like progressive rock music. Highly recommended to all prog lovers--especially if you're a SW fan.

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