PICTURE

One-shot Neo Prog gathering, featuring members mostly of the British movement.John Mitchell, who appears on guitar and voices, is among the leaders of Arena, Pete Trewavas is the lifetime bassist of Marillion and Transatlantic, drummer Chris Maitland has been a close collaborator of Steven Wilson on early Porcupine Tree and his side-project Blackfield, while keyboardist John Beck was among the founding members of Art Pop/Progers It Bites and also a member of Karnataka.With a couple of guest singers they recorded their only album ''Picture'' at the Outhouse Studios in Reading, it was released in 2005 on Inside Out.

Kino played a safe Neo Prog with emphasis on melodies and quirky, catchy atmospheres with the guitar of Mitchell being the absolute highlight, at the very end they remind me of what JADIS were doing around the same time, moving some inches away from the classic British Neo Prog sound to find peace in rockier, guitar-driven compositions.But unlike Gary Chandler, who appeared a bit tired after all these years, Mitchell & co. marked a fresh, new collaboration with the aim to come-up with melodic and accesible compositions, which do not lack heaviness or more intricate instrumental parts.All tracks are pretty strong with passages including romantic tunes, modern rock aesthetics, some great riffs and also tons of interesting melodies.As usually with such kind of albums the material is rewarded by the ability of the musicians to come up with memorable themes and well-crafted musicianship and this team of veterans did a pretty nice work.The keyboards are balanced with some flashy lights and mainly some good background moods with a discreet grandiose sound, Mitchell's guitar work and voice are the driving forces and, needless to say, both are almost flawless, while the pieces are characterized by intense choruses, nice hooks and this old-styled Neo Prog feel with emphasis on the atmospheric creativity.

The same year Kino release an indendent collection of demos and live recordings, titled ''Cutting room floor'', which also meant to be the swan song of the band (even if It Bites' Bob Dalton replaced Chris Maitland at some point).A project to remember, accesible still challenging Neo Prog with striking tunes all over the place.Not for fans of ultra-complex music, still this comes strongly recommended, great little break between more adventurous listenings...3.5 stars.