LEX REX

I expected to enjoy this album, after reading all the positive reviews, but after 4 listens I still can't find much to like about it. While some of the compositional complexity is interesting, the melodies are not memorable. The music seems somewhat derivative of early Yes and Genesis (which I'm a fan of), but not excecuted nearly as well. The female vocals are decent, but male vocals are weak. I didn't care for the sound of the keyboards or guitar; some bits in "Further Up and Further In" are annoyingly mosquito-like. The lyrics and story are not compelling, though perhaps a little above average for a Christian rock record (of which this is one). The goofy spoken voice tracks (1, 5, and 10) ruin the mood and are just plain embarrassing to listen to. Worth a full point off the score - I would never listen to this album in public! One part that piqued my interest was the use of a theme from Kate Bush's song "Kite" (from "The Kick Inside") in "Further Up and Further In" (6:30-6:55, 9:00) - but I'm sure this is just a coincidence. Though I didn't enjoy it, Lex Rex may be worth checking out if you're into retro keyboard-driven Christian rock - and are not easily embarassed.