LIGHT AND SOUND

For reasons unbeknownst to me, this 2010 release by Mirek Gil passed by unnoticed. The music herein is so gentle, and the running time so short, that it too might escape unappreciated were it not for the striking intimacy of its production and the sense of being privy to a house concert in one's pyjamas. While not entirely in contrast with "I Want to get you back home" from 2012, this recording thrives more on simplicity and dwells more in the folk realm, like an "unplugged" disk, except of hitherto unreleased material. Suffice to say it shares kinship with earlier BELIEVE albums, particularly "Yesterday is a Friend" but is much mellower and only peripherally progressive. Again, Gil has chosen to use his solo format to express passions not fulfilled by BELIEVE.

Gil enlists trusted vocalist Karol Wroblewski as well as several other BELIEVE members in the service of this aesthetically pleasing production. While he plays acoustic guitar almost entirely, as much space is devoted to the delicate piano, cello, and vocal accompaniment. Several instrumentals include fretted instruments that might be oddly tuned guitars or mandolin, and elsewhere a few winds are suggested. The album brings to mind the masterful "Secrets of the Beehive" by DAVID SYLVIAN in timbre and congeniality, but not nearly as transcendent to be sure. I am also reminded of a Canadian folk singer/songwriter from bygone days, STEPHEN FEARING, one of those "most likely to" artists who never quite completed the sentence.

"Easily" offers flutes (synthesized or not it's unclear) and caressing emotive vocals over strummed guitar; "Annah" is given over to piano and sedately whirring cello, with touching vocal harmonies. "King of Gold" was released as the video and would have been an automatic hit for a bigger artist. Here Wroblewski and the piano accompaniments are more emphatic, and the melody is even harder to shake. Later, the title cut seems to invoke a more whispered "Forbidden Colours" by the aforementioned Sylvian.

While I much prefer this to "I want to get you back home", I suspect once again that the average prog listener might be underwhelmed. If, however, the synopsis suits, then by all means shine "Light and Sound" on your spirit. 3.5 stars rounded down.