INTERNATIONAL DAYLIGHT

Quite eclectic band, Mindgames. Those belgians are good indeed and show an willingness to experiment, something rarely seen on debut CDs. Of course this is not all successful. In fact they seem to be struggling to find their own sound quite early. And clearly, they haven´t. Don´t get me wrong, the sound is mostly good, done by expert musicians. There are some great keyboards and guitar passages. Bass and drums are great too. The singer has a voice that is definitly not everyone´s cup of tea (a bit too high, sometimes trying to emulate too much Jon Anderson, if you know what I mean). It´s a matter of taste. It does not bother me.

This is not your common neo prog. There are many elements from severalr sources, like jazz, prog metal, symphonic rock of the 70´s, Beatles and even some psychodelic rock here and there. The only problem I found on this CD are the tunes: although good, it is obvious that those guys could go much further if they had waited a little while to mature them before recording. As it is International Daylight proves to be more promising than fullfilling. On the other hand the production is excellent and the playing is also top notch.

The band would eventually find their own style by the time of their second release, the excellent Actors in A Play. All the right ingredients are here, but they were still trying the new formula. Good, ok, but not essential in any way. final rating: something between 2,5 and 3 stars.