PICTURE

"Picture" is the debut full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Kino. The album was released through InsideOut Music in November 2005. Kino formed in 2004 and consists of four relatively prolific prog rock musicians in John Beck (It Bites) on keyboards, John Mitchell (Arena, The Urbane) on vocals and guitar, Chris Maitland (Ex-Porcupine Tree) on Drums, and Pete Trawavas (Marillion, Transatlantic) on Bass. Kino folded again in 2006, but reunited in 2017 and released the 2018 "Radio Voltaire" sophomore studio album.

The music is mainstream oriented pop/rock with some progressive tendencies. It reminds me a bit of Jem Godfrey´s Frost* project (a band Mitchell would soon join) but it´s not quite as progressive inclined. The music features a warm sound and lots of layers of guitars and keyboards. The vocals are in focus most of the time though although the tracks feature the occasional guitar- or keyboard solo. The most progressive structured song is the opening track "Losers' Day Parade" which with its 9 minutes of playing time is also the longest track on "Picture". "Losers' Day Parade" shows what Kino are capable of and it´s overall a pretty impressive composition. The other tracks are good quality compositions too but arguably less progressive and closer to commercial pop/rock in their compositional style and songwriting ideas. The chorus on "Leaving A Light On" is for example incredibly catchy and pop oriented. Although there is generally a bit more punch to Kino´s sound the 1997 "Calling All Stations" album by Genesis is a valid reference. There´s the same warm and pleasant atmosphere present on "Picture".

"Picture" features a well sounding production job, which is detailed, clear, and powerful, perfectly suiting the material, and upon conclusion it´s a good quality release from Kino which is somewhere between mainstream oriented pop/rock and progressive rock in the lesser progressive end of the scale. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.