JOURNEY THROUGH THE SKIES

This 2015 album was the third studio release from Lithuanian act The Skys. Joining Jonas Čiurlionis (lead vocals, guitar) and the boys on this album are some notable guests including Snowy White (Thin Lizzy, Pink Floyd etc.) and Rob Townsend (Steve Hackett). This is another album where the vocals have come in for some criticism which is somewhat unfair to my mind, as I do think that they add an additional quality to the music. True, they may be more spoken than sung at times, with an accent, but to me there is pleasure to be gained in that this allows the band to create their own identity and stand more alone. Keyboard player Bozena Buinicka also provide vocals at times, and there are some female leads, but I really enjoy what Jonas is doing here.

Musically they are heavily influenced by Pink Floyd, but from more than one era, so that while one could argue that 'Animals' is the more important album, there are also elements of 'Dark Side' and also from the very early days as well. There are times where they bring in sitar, distorted guitars, tablas etc., and this all adds to what is a very interesting album indeed. The Skys, for some reason, have never really gained the recognition they deserve, as this is an album that progheads really ought to seek out.