PARADOX OF CHOICE

MINDGAMES are a five piece Neo Prog band out of Belgium and this is album number four from 2015. They just released their fifth studio album in 2024. The first major change in the band's history happened before this album was recorded and that was the departure of their lead guitarist. The new guy is very good. In fact this album is very good. It's rare for me to find an album listed under Neo Prog from the 10's or 20's that gets me this excited. Sure there's the IQ and PENDRAGON albums thankfully, and speaking of PENDRAGON this band really reminds me of the 90's version of that band.

The singer's name is Bart and he is great, and a huge part of my love for this album. We get nine tracks worth an hour, and this is a melancholic album with lots of emotion and uplifting sections. Some songs that stood out were "The Age Of Plenty" at over 11 minutes and the longest of the nine, and it's such a cool ride. How about "Whistle-Blower" for the mellotron and bass. I like how powerful it gets. "Out Of Sight" is moving, both the lyrics and sound. "Context? Anyone?" starts out with some beautiful guitar with reserved vocals as it builds. Nice guitar solo 2 minutes in as the organ runs. I like the determined sound on "Requiem For A Dancing World", as well as the mellotron and passionate vocals. The closer "From A Drone's perspective" at 10 minutes is very much hit and miss, and really the only hiccup in my opinion.

I've included this in my best of Neo Prog list. It hits the spot big time when I have that itch.