SURREAL

Mildly progressive without being overly technical, "Surreal" is almost entirely instrumental. Lots of keyboards, as expected, and some fun guitar work. My biggest complaint is that it is mostly instrumental. The title track is the only one with any vocals, featuring, of course, Lana Lane. It's a good song, and at over ten minutes long, it's a long welcome break from the instrumental pieces. Even this song, though, has a long instrumental bit in the middle. Another favorite is "Unearthly," if only because it has some unusual instruments and some Asian-type influences. The last track, "El Gran Final," has more energy than the other tracks.

The album as a whole is a bit lighter than other Norlander projects. The album is pleasant to listen to, with some nice melodies. I'm not generally a huge fan of instrumental progressive rock, and there's nothing here that's particularly original or excellent. That being said, I do like this. 3 stars.