SPIRIT

Having really liked their album "Cardinal Points" from 2011, I was really interested to hear what the band had come up with on their new album, "Spirit". Now, after listening several times, I must say that musically it is quite good. The compositions are strong(although not as strong as Cardinal Points), the arrangements are well done, and the playing is top notch. The music here, as it does on "Cardinal Points", has a somewhat dark feel to it.

The biggest difference(and drawback) to this new album is the vocals. The previous vocalists, Debbie Chapman and Kerry Parker, both had perfect voices for Legend's style of neo prog. The new vocalist, Beck Sian, has a huge range and sounds great in the lower ranges. But at times when she sings in the high ranges, her voice sounds like chalk on a blackboard to me.

Still, a pretty good album worthy of 4 stars for the music, and 3 stars overall.