GATHERING THE WATERS

Another excellent release from the bizarrely-named I am The Manic Whale. This album shows development from their first (excellent) release, and to be honest, I didn't like it quite as much on first hearing. However, as is often the case with the best of Progressive Rock, this album rewards repeated listens and careful examination. I bought the album directly from Michael Whiteman through their web page.

This album has received extensive plays chez nous over the last couple of weeks, and we have really got to appreciate it. The opening track - "The Man With Many Faces" - shows the strides that this band has made from their first album, in composition, performance and recording. "The Milgram Experiment" - a very strange choice for a topic for a song - is positively chilling. Of the other tracks, "Stand Up" really stands out for me, though they all have a lot to offer, with the exception of "I'll Interlude You In A Minute" which just appears to be a means of providing a split between halves of the album (though I may be wrong!).

Once again, I was introduced to this album by the Chris Hunter programme on raidersfm.com, when he played a couple of the tracks last year. The songs are not quite as immediate as the first album, but they're equally well-crafted. The composition and musicianship are of the highest order, but I'm going to give it only 4.5 this time around - I think that I still prefer the first release.

Once again, I'm looking forward to their next release!