MOUSE

True: this can be a very difficult album to review, becouse of its own structure. There are 30 tracks in the first edition and 35 in the latest one. Some of those tracks are musical sketches, in which some good ideas are not fully exploited and this can be deceiving for some listeners. But the athmosphere is very good and there is the most important quality in a progressive rock album (IMHO): variety. The storyline is about a fantastic voyage with a spiritual taste and it's presented in all details in the booklet, just before the lyrics... maybe a little too much complicated and obscure, but interesting. And now,something about the music. It's mainly what we usually tag as "neoprogressive", with all the keyboard devices you can imagine and a very good choice of samplings and special effects too. You'll find good melodies, athmospheric tracks, rythmic and even powerful rock moments, in a rapid and beautiful succession. There are no bass and drum players in the band, but the programmed instruments sound good, just a little artificial sometimes. The vocals are "à la Rush", sometimes screechy, but not so bad . Finally, Aragon's Mouse can seem a little cold or mechanical, but these faults are perfectly balanced by fantasy and good taste.