EXPRESSO II

To prevent disappointment, it must be said upfront that this album isn't as consistently enjoyable as its predecessor. The band's attempt at creating a "Heavy Tune" with a simplistic hard rock riff and a weak guitar solo by Mick Taylor turns out rather feeble, and the tracks "Sleepy" and "Boring" are unfortunately aptly titled as well: the former tries to recreate the feel of "Esnuria" from the last album but kind of falls flat, and the latter starts off as a cool violin-centred waltz before losing steam as it transforms into another funk jam. Both of these songs were written by Mireille Bauer; were the titles supposed to indicate her feelings towards the band on the last album before her departure? Ah well, it's not like they're annoying to listen to, and the other songs thankfully more than make up for it. "Soli" and "Three Blind Mice" stand out in particular as solid jazz fusion offerings: engaging memorable themes, shining Allan Holdsworth guitar solos and good use of the band's trademark mallet percussion all around. A very good effort.