PRIMORDIAL

This follow-up album to 1999's 'Sliding' has been delayed by Fred Hunter's illness, which he is extremely honest about in the booklet as he tells the story of the album. Happily Fred appears to have recovered enough to again work on this album, the line-up completed by Mark Lavallee (drums), Jeff McFarland (vocals, guitars), Franceso Neto (guitar), and Steve Ades (sax) while Fred provided keyboards, bass and guitar. Of course this band is a side project of Land's End, but they have a valid musical identity in their own right

This is music that is dreamy and reflective, sometimes lacking the edge, but it doesn't manage to drift totally into New Age. It works as background music as well as being listened to intently. There is always the danger of losing sense of everything that is going on around as this music can capture the listener, taking them into a different world. The vocals are just enough to keep attention focussed, and the result is an album that while containing many softer passages a la Floyd, doesn't have as many dynamic shifts as other prog albums. An interesting exercise and hopefully it won't be as long until the next one.

Originally appeared in Feedback #78, April 2004