HALF LIFE

IZZ is an American group which has traveled well on various prog festivals to manage to refine their musical orientations. Here there is YES, a little TRANSATLANTIC, second half GENESIS and even MANFRED MANN as reference sounds. This ET is supposed to make the link with their next production, so as not to forget them? They offer 4 tracks for 20 minutes of music, and a B side of their guitarist of the same duration. "The Soul Of Music" begins with a classical piano intro leading to a musical land scent of the 70's, mellotron and drums setting the tone for the somewhat mysterious TRANSATLANTIC direction; the bass is also very present until the guitar solo, the end on GENESIS for the more enlightened keyboard, all in less than 5 minutes. "Into the Sun" arrives with a mellow song dominated here by John's ubiquitous bass; then a fruity synth fight here reminds me of good MANFRED MANN, it's energetic, invigorating, it's playful and more pop-rock than prog. "Half Life" title song of this mini EP on a very pop Phil COLLINS intro to catch your ears, a warm voice of Tom and Anmarie which gives pride of place to percusions, an agreed tune limit romantic ballad, title on the loss of someone and its consequences, an even more striking title in this covid year; simplicity and splendor united. "The Wait of it All" live by CalProg covers a track from "AMPERSAND" from 2004, a faster track than the previous ones; Laura's voice adds emotion to it while the second part of the title sees the synths come in and give a very symphonic character here; it is a bit like MAGENTA or MOSTLY AUTUMN at this precise moment; end with a precise and enlightened solo by Paul on guitar. An EP that denotes a bit by offering short titles that move away a little from their universe, although I could not listen to the B side, a transitional EP.