BARBARES

I would love to give this album 5 stars for the sake of promoting this excellent band, but frankly it falls short of a masterpiece. However it is still a very pleasurable listen, albeit not as high quality or as good of a starting point as their earlier material, especially Si Partie II.

Stylistically, NEMO retains their signature blend of jazzy rhythms and melodic themes that skirt between hard and symphonic rock. High-flying guitar makes up the core of the sound on this record (think: CAMEL's Rajaz), though there are plenty of well-done keyboard moments. Sadly, there seems to be less emphasis on harmonic interplay between guitar and keyboards as on their previous records and more of an alternating spotlight approach, though that may be more desirable to some listeners. The songs are all well-written & played, though many of the shorter tracks are pleasant but not exactly memorable. The title track, a 25-minute long suite, is the obvious highlight, although it came across as a bit repetitive, but nevertheless enjoyable.

Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the other gems of NEMO's exciting discography, although I hesitate to offer this as a starting point over the aforementioned Si Partie II. NEMO is a fantastic band - one of the few modern outfits I enjoy on their own merit - and deserves to be checked out any prog fan.