LOVER'S END

It would have been nearly impossible for Moon Safari to get even more ambitious than what they did on their second album and thus it might not seem too surprising that the band chose a different route for their third release. Lover's End was released towards the end of 2010, almost 2,5 years after the release of their ambitious sophomore record [Blomljud] and showed another significant change in the band's direction. The album featured a slightly softer sound and thus leaving out many of the previously significant progressive elements from the two previous releases. The compositions were shortened down, with only two of the 8 tracks being longer than nine minutes, which made less room for instrumental interludes and fewer sections within each composition.

Does this necessarily mean that Lover's End is a weaker album in terms of its progressiveness? Well, it's not like Moon Safari have completely abandoned their prog tendencies, instead they sharpened their songwriting by not allowing their compositions to overstay their individual welcome. Instead we get a more natural flow of material with each track featuring just enough ideas and execution to allow listeners to enjoy and appreciate the music without being bored by excessive prog sections just for the sake of it. I feel that there is a certain trend among quite a few bands (especially under the Crossover Prog sub-genre) that border on the edge between prog and pop music that often chose to feature certain prog elements just too receive the prog label, which will ensure that prog rock fans will listen to it.

The album's stand-out track is also its most technically ambitious composition titled A Kid Called Panic. This track is a complete bliss from start to finish and features a diverse set of elements that will appeal to fans of pop, art rock and prog rock alike. Other highlights feature the melodically driven Heartland and the beautiful and atmospheric The World's Best Dreamers. I honestly can't think of any disappointing compositions since the shorter track lengths allows even some of the less interesting moments to shine without overstaying their welcome.

If you are a fan of very melodic and harmonic music then Lover's End is definitely an album that you should discover. It's not as ambitious or technical as [Blomljud] but there are just enough progressive moments to make it count as a solid progressive rock album.

***** star songs: A Kid Called Panic (13:57) Heartland (5:47)

**** star songs: Lover's End pt. I (6:43) Southern Belle (3:47) The World's Best Dreamers (5:46) New York City Summergirl (4:08) Crossed The Rubicon (9:46) Lover's End pt. II (1:57)