SPIRIT ANIMAL

Frustrating is the best adjective I can come up with to describe this album. The first three tracks are stunning masterpieces, not of progressive electronic, but of symphonic rock- a regal surprise for me, seeing as how I only acquired this album in the course of broadening my musical horizons, as it were. The last two tracks, comprising almost half the album, are so boring it is downright unbearable, as though no thought or effort was put into them, especially in terms of variety. For that, it's a pity, but I highly recommend this album anyway, it if only for the first three pieces.

"Spirit Animal" Immediately when I first played this recording, my mind went straight to my favorite album of all time- Yes's Tales from Topographic Oceans. The opening segment had that same feel, and I'll be damned if I didn't get really excited. The bass maintains a static riff, sliding back and forth between octaves throughout much of the beginning before giving way to what I can only describe as symphonic bliss, alternating between major and minor chords, producing a majestic feel and making great use of the synthesizer as the lead instrument. It all falls away though, ushering in a darker, duller section of piano, acoustic guitar, and Mellotron. The stately symphonic rock returns just before the eleven-minute mark, and it is saturated with every staple of the genre.

"Spirit Warrior" The second track takes on a more electronic approach, but still incorporates quite a few symphonic rock elements. The chunky bass guitar and the synthetic choir are the grandest constituents of the piece.

"Earthly Powers" The third track kicks off with a cacophonic theme shared by the synthesizer and guitar. As the bass takes over this theme, it provides even more compositional opportunities, and the band takes them, ultimately creating a piece that sounds a fair bit like latter-day King Crimson. Fans of The Power to Believe will no doubt get a kick out of this, so long as the heavy use of the synthesizer isn't a turn-off.

"Cosmic Powers" This is the point of the album where things take a sharp turn for the worse and head downhill going south. Electronic grooves that are boring to begin with are repeated, with the only change being the music shifting down a half step or so. The percussion mercifully takes over during the last few moments.

"Through Time" The second that grating synthesizer tone rang out, I felt I was in for a headache. Really, how long can one stay in 5/4? While interesting at first, the whole business grows stale rather quickly. It takes three minutes or more to fade out. That's honestly really all there is to say about this seventeen minute bore.