BLACK RAIN

It's amazing how many beautiful, high quality albums sneak beneath the radar each and every year. This is one of them: an album of pure pop-prog ear candy in the same pool with ALAN PARSONS PROJECT and TONY PATTERSON's 2016 masterpiece, Equations of Meaning.

1. "Life in Towns" (5:45) a pensive song of pure ear candy. Even the spoken word passage at 3:30 is reinforced powerfully with the amped up multi-voice chorus right after. Great 12-string strumming reminiscent of AMERICA's "I Need You" and so many of the songs on Tony Patterson's Equations of Meaning. A top three song. (9.5/10)

2. "Murderous Highland Highway" (8:13) such amazing ear candy! Undeniable! I love the R&B "doo-wop" background vocals during the awesome instrumental passage from 3:40 to 5:30 and how it's helping to anchor the heavenly music during the album's best guitar solo. My favorite song on the album. (15/15)

3. "Black Rain" (4:53) a little too saccharine and with less heart-tugging hooks than the opening two songs. Still, Nick Beggs is such an underrated bass player. (8.75/10)

4. "Mad at the World" (4:57) an interesting pop song with 12-strings and APP-like lead vocals. Nice chord change hooks between the verses and the choruses and back. (8.875/10)

5. "Letting Go of You" (6:48) a gentle, country/folk-tinged guitar song featuring the vocals of Nick's daughter, Lula, in the lead department. It's decent--especially as it builds over time. Somehow it reminds me of Train's song "Calling All Angels." (13.125/15)

6. "Angel of Mercy" (4:48) another song that reminds me of the AMERICA-like songscapes created by TONY PATTERSON for his 2016 masterpiece, Equations of Meaning. It never quite reaches the same heights as Tony's work but it's nice. (8.875/10)

7. "We've Come Undone" (5:08) cool opening with "lonely piano" with robot-effected multi-voiced vocals. The music ramps up for the chorus sections like Steven Wilson is prone to do. Cool effect when the bass tempo doubles and Lula Beggs takes over the lead vocal in the third minute. (9/10)

8. "Morphine" (3:08) pretty strummed acoustic guitar, keyboard, and bass weave supported by hi-hat and rim taps leading up to another TONY PATTERSON/ALAN PARSONS PROJECT-like vocal. Also cool electric guitar floating around in the background. (9/10)

9. "We Choose to Be Happy" (3:25) A song whose group singing approach for all of its vocals conjures up the hippie pop bands of the 1960s like the Mamas And The Papas. It's okay--though the lyrics are a bit too sappy, even for me. (8.5/10)

10. "Trapped in Heaven" (4:04) very pretty music and composition weighted down by the same whole group singing approach as the previous song (though I do not hear the presence of a female in this choir). All chord changes, instrumental play and palette as well as solos show a very seasoned and confident composer. Almost a top three song for me. (9.25/10)

11. "Diamonds" (4:22) pensive mathematic synth sequence on repeat opens this, providing enough fabric for Frank and his piano to start their parts. Nice to hear Lula in the background vocal choir. The music amps up beautifully, emotionally, in the second verse, leading to some great synth solo work as well as some awesome Lula Beggs wordless vocalise. My final top three song. (9.5/10)

Total Time 55:31

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of prog pop music--one that many prog lovers will fall in love with--especially the NeoProg crowd.