IMAGINARY FRIENDS

This definitely my favorite A.C.T album to date! There is not a single weak or average track and on top of that Imaginary Friends also features the best long track compared to the ones off other A.C.T releases. Considering all this I actually have very little to say about this album's content since I believe that the music basically speaks for itself.

I've always considered Ola Andersson's guitar style to be under-appreciated by the general public but just listen to his performance on Svetlana. He switches his performance for every single part of the song while still maintaining a great balance with the rest of the performances. This is what I call great musicianship! I really can't stand when skilled guitarists get attention for playing slick solo performances on band recordings. It's just not enough being great at your craft but instead musicians should be judged by how well they incorporate their performances in the overall band-sound.

I would recommend this album to anyone who likes complex music with a blend of melodic vocals that almost makes you believe that you are listening to a popular rock record! But don't be fooled, there are a lot of musical ideas that you probably will miss upon the first listen. But thanks to the huge replay value you will have no problem of spinning this album enough times to acknowledge this great work of art.

***** star songs: Hippest Flop (4:48) A Supposed Tour (4:41) Imaginary Friends (5:50) At The Altar (0:38) Svetlana (3:42) No Perspective (1:06) Second Thoughts (0:54) Mr. Unfaithful (7:04) Little Beauty (4:18)

**** star songs: Take It Easy (4:27) Biggest Mistake (7:49) She/Male (4:47) Gamophobia (0:46) And They Lived Happily Ever After (7:23)

Total Rating: 4,56