MESSAGES FROM AFAR - THE DIVISION AND ILLUSION OF TIME

I was positively surprised by this new album by the composer Antony Kalugin. I know almost all of his discography and my favourite album is Sunchild's "As far as the eye can see"; so I was hoping in something similar: warm, majestic and atmospheric but with melancholy in the background. But wishing that an artist would compose the music you like is always wrong?and now, after some weeks listening, I love this album for different reasons: the mood is completely different from the other Sunchild albums, and it is more in a Karfagen vein; everything is full of positivity, melody and joy. Furthermore, I like its "vintage prog" flavour: you can breathe it everywhere, from the wonderful artwork to the sounds of the keyboards, even from some song titles. Sometimes you feel like you are in the '70s!

Talking about the songs, the record begins with "Searching diamonds", a classic prog with some good keyboards/piano, a great singing and some very nice female backing vocals. A great start! In the second song "Grail and time", it is clear that Pink Floyd is the main source of inspiration. The third song is a little surprise: "60 degrees to the 70s" (great title) has got roots really in the 70's, but its atmosphere is really poppish and light, I would dare to say in a Beatles mood. For me it is the first highlight of the record! The following "Mystery train" is a melodic and atmospheric tune; I listened to it on Youtube with an adequate video and it is nothing less than dreamy? The short "Dreams from a lonely town" is a proper introduction to the title track, that could be easily included in one of the Gilmour solo records for its guitar tunes and "Gilmouresque" vocals, at least in the first section. P Other highlight is for me "Victory voyager": a 20 mins long suite with a strong prog taste, full of interplays between instruments, a great crescendo and a beautiful melody. Even though it is a very long piece, you will never get bored listening to it! p Finally my favourite song, called "Father". It is the only remainder to the melancholic humor of "As far as the eye can see"; a long instrumental with acoustic guitar and a wonderful violin. I cannot know what Antony was thinking when composing it, but I find it very touching and deep.

I have not already had the chance to go deeper into the lyrics of this great album, but I will, as I am sure it is worth doing it.