MOTIONS OF DESIRE

Wow! One fo the best prog releases of the new millenium! High caliber prog music from Norway. Like Steve Gardiner wrote in his review of this album I too have to thank the people of this site: I was reading an album review and found this band. I liked the name (was it taken from the Flower Kings song of the same name? I guess so...) But I was not ready for the music they made. This is one of the best CDs I bought this year and I keep listening to it over and over again.

Miagc Pie´s style reminds of their swedish neighbor The Flower Kings. But with more melody and less of the latter´s jazz rock experiments and psycholdelic trends. And with 3 lead singers, the band has some of the best harmony vocals I´ve seen in prog music. In the second part of Change, fro exemple, the harmonies remind of the complex structures of Gentle Giant. Strong rooted in the 70´s classic bands, Magic Pie neverthelesss has its own sound from the get go. They are not novices and do a great job without ego battles. Obviously they are all masters of their instruments, but they don´t use song structures as an excuse for self indulgent displays of virtuosity. Here everything falls into place at the right time. A real group that plays for the music sake. I hope they keep it that way.

Motions Of Desire is a fantastic debut, with lots of organ runs, moog solos and great guitar melodies. The track list is smooth from start to finish, with no filler or weak parts. I probably should give them 4 stars, but I find it to be too good even for that. With a mixture of beautiful, simple melodies and intricated arrangements, the music is original, yet familiar, complex, and still accessible. Maybe the best release of 2005. 5 stars, no less. Highly recommended for any prog lover.