THE ART OF VANISHING

The progressive rock band Cirrus Bay have been around since 2008 when they released their first commercial album entitled The Slipping of a Day. I was fortunate enough to be a part of that project since I have known and been friends with Front man Bill Gillham for over 35 years. Bill and I have collaborated on music over the years. So here we are in 2019 and Cirrus Bay has released their 6th commercial album entitled The Art of Vanishing. First of all the CD artwork looks great! Cirrus Bay has always had nice covers for their albums. This is an album which I will need to listen to several times I believe for it to grow on me.

From the first listen that I have had it doesn't surpass their last album from 2016 which was Places Unseen. That album surprised me in many ways with it's new direction it took. That isn't to say that The Art of Vanishing is a bad album. Cirrus Bay over the years has had several female singers. The current one Tai Shan has a wonderful voice and was the lead singer on the previous work. She plays a big part in the success of many of the tracks on this new album. The first long track on the album is entitled Blossom of Hills. It is perhaps my favorite track on the album after the first listen. Cirrus Bay is a bit like Genesis, Renaissance, and lately a bit of the late Swedish prog musician Bo Hansson. A Garment of Clouds is also very nicely done. The lyrics of the song paint a portrait! The next track that I liked was The North Country. This song like on their previous album had a nod to Bo Hansson. There it was a song entitled Horseback to Hanssonland which blew me away. The new song also captures the feel of the late Bo Hansson for the most part. The second half of the album has a track that I enjoyed right away! It was entitled The Dictator! The song might be suggestive of our political environment these days. Its well done though!

The new album consists of well over an hour of music including bonus tracks which are not available unless you purchase the CD. My only disappointment if you can call it that was the album for me at least didn't have the energy, music hooks or new direction feel as the last one did. On the bonus tracks I would have liked to have seen a song Cirrus Bay did for their first 2008 album. It is entitled Starlings In the Sand and was not included on their first effort due to time constraints on the CD. I am hoping it is included in a future disc sometime. This album though is a must if you are a progressive rock enthusiast and a follower of Cirrus Bay's works. :)