SON

Just to confuse everyone, this album isn't actually called 'Son', but that is the closest way of representing the Cyrillic alphabet (these guys are from the Ukraine), and translated it means 'Dream', so now the album cover makes a little more sense! Formed back in 2004 by Volodymyr Agafonkin (vocals, acoustic guitar) it soon became a full band, and these days includes both viola and flute in the six person line-up. It has taken eight years since the debut for this album to be released, but perhaps that isn't surprising when one considers just what went into this. 15 musicians were involved, including a string quartet, 10 sound engineers were involved in recording, which took more than 200 hours in seven different studios across three cities. The album was then mixed by Bruce Soord (who has of course found fame with his band The Pineapple Thief, although for some reason I always think of him as being from Vulgar Unicorn).

There are obvious similarities with Bruce's own work, and I can see why they wanted him involved, as he has managed to capture the beauty and majesty of a quite amazing album. In many ways it is truly progressive as the band have been magpies across multiple progressive sub genres, taking the bits that shine and sparkle and then mixing them with their own take on folk and pop to create something that is very different to most of the music that is coming out of the scene today. The arrangements are incredibly complex and layered, without being smothering as there is always plenty of room for everyone. At times the guitars are hard and threatening with squeals of pain and dischord coming from the viola, but at others it is light and fresh. It can be languid, or it driving, yet is always inspirational and essential. It is a great album, one that all progheads need to seek out, even if it isn't what they might expect from the genre as a whole. What about this for the final word from the band? "Despite how much it cost for us to create this album, we're sharing it with you for free. In return, we ask you to help us be heard by sharing the album with your friends personally and on social networks, writing a review on your favourite music website, leaving comments and likes. We won't make it without you." You heard the guys