FEATURING RAY BENNETT & COLIN CARTER

I'm guessing not too many bands have a forty year gap between albums but FLASH are back and yes it's been forty years since their last recording called "Out Of Our Hands" released in 1973. This 2013 release features two original members in Colin Carter and Ray Bennett. I must admit I was surprised at how good some of these tracks are, pleasantly surprised I guess you could say, but a few songs really drag this album down for me hence the 3 star rating.

"Night Vision" is a top three track for me and it's the one where the vocals sound the best. Like the album I find the vocals to be really inconsistent. This song is a symphonic piece with a good rhythm to it at times. An excellent start. The biggest surprise for me was hearing "Hurt" for the first time not expecting it to be THAT song as in the NINE INCH NAILS classic. This is the longest tune at 9 1/2 minutes and they do a pretty good job with it. "Something So Dark" has double tracked vocals at times but it's the vocals that do little for me and this song is the first letdown.

"Manhatten Morning" is a cover of their own song from their previous album "Out Of Our Hands" and I really like this one, in fact it's a top three as well. The lyrics are so meaningful as I can visualize what he's singing. A definite highlight. "Into The Sun" and "Grand Canyon" are the two worst songs in my opinion. I just can't get into either one at all and both are over 8 minutes in length. "Morpheum" is my other top three and it's an instrumental. Spacey synths to start as a heavy sound kicks in with some excellent bass. A calm follows with more spacey synths. The guitar sounds good here as well. "10,000 Movies" really reminds me of the band TILES even the vocals on the chorus. A pretty good tune. "Richerd Of Venice" ends the album and it's an instrumental with some rare piano leading the way. I like it.

A good comeback album that certainly has it's moments. FLASH fans should really check this out.