BIRDS OF PASSAGE

This is my first review. Ill have it shorter than your regular review you would find on this page but i feel a lot of it is just ramble about stuff thats obvious or irrelevant so ill be going straight to the point.

Songwriting 3/5 - it is a pleasant listen. Nowhere did i stop and think to myself that i needed to hear something again. The song doesnt have as strong of a character as the old epics did, it doesnt take a sudden turn and it isnt really building anything up it kind of just flows through as it is if that makes sense. It feels more like a soundtrack than a song and in that way its pleasant like how letting a soundtrack play in the background of something is. I think i prefer the second part over the first but youre really getting the same out of them both.

Vocals 3/5 - The guy is a good singer, the girl isnt bad either but neither of them feel unique. This also isnt complemented by the fact that theres nothing interesting about the lyrics.

Lyrics 1/5 - The main hook feels generic or even silly, the rest isnt catchy at all. I never found myself suddenly recollecting the lyrics or singing along with it. Forgettable. Instruments 4/5 - Guys clearly know how to play. Theres no obvious part where any of them really show off. Other than that theres no issue

Composition 3/5 - It works fine as a double epic, i still think you could have summarized it in a single epic and then have room for different music following the same aesthetic. I think it would have made a much more complete album. The bonus tracks arent bad but dont add anything to what you will find on the title track.

Atmosphere 4/5 - There definitely is a cohesive atmosphere over the album that reflects the imagery the cover art is trying to convey, this is their strongest perk imo. If i were ranking the album cover too it would get 5/5 and is what originally got me to listen to the album.

RANT: a lot of these newer progressive rock bands seem to be suffering from the same thing. With this i feel they are just using what they come up with and end up releasing 10 different albums over 10 years of overwhelming material that just kind of sound all the same. All of it feels like theyre trying to do what they did in the 70s instead of doing something new which progressive rock is all about. I feel there is a much clearer idea of what a progressive rock song should soundlike today which was basically nonexistent back then. If you break the songs down to sections, (same applies for opeth and wobbler and the rest of this gen of prog) it seems theyre always trying to imitate a certain playstyle from the 70s. One song sounds a lot like jethro tull then the next is like genesis and then the next is like pink floyd. I feel this is really obvious on this record. So im thinking why dont they piece together the good parts and make 3 possibly great albums in 10 years (which i believe they would be capable of) instead of pooping out a new album as soon as they have a song.

In the end it wasnt short at all. I feel this is a bit different from the norm here but if it slides ill probably make more reviews. Id give it a 2,5 if it were an option.