FOUR SIDES

It is time to praise once again the work made by Ken Baird (keyboards), Chris Lamont (drums ) and Dino Verginella (bass), who under the name of Monarch Trail have released four studio albums so far, being this one "Four Sides" from 2023 their latest.

What they bring here (and through all their discography) is an overdose of amazing symphonic / neo prog oriented music (with a remarkable exception that I will point out when writing about track two), where guest musicians such as Steve Cochrane and Kelly Kereliuk add their grain of sand with guitars. The album features only five compositions but a total time of 73 minutes, and it is curious and I think it was on purpose, but the song order goes from the longest to the shortest one, so yeah, it's a long journey.

"The Oldest of Trees" is a 23-minute track (longer than some average EP's haha), and it is indeed quite a journey full or richness of sounds and colours. As you can imagine, it is never a plain song, it has several changes in tempo, mood, instrumentation, different passages that could be place on a novel or any fiction book. The first minutes are soft, gentle, even Baird's voice is sweet as well as the background. Then at minute three one of the first keyboard explosions briefly appear and later a change in mood and tempo starts, led by those great Verginella's bass lines; there is a Yes-like feeling in this passage, and of course an evident neo-prog flavor in the vein of The Flower Kings that embraces its musical spirit. A great piano and drum oriented passage starts at minute six, sharing a mix of emotions, with some beauty on in but at the same time with some notes that create a bit of tension. The way they put new and new elements is great, so despite having long passages, not a single round is the same. I also love the vocal game and layers produced by them. Spacey and celestial atmospheres are being delivered after minute ten, the music develops new rhythms and passages, including one with a delicate acoustic guitar. Then it explodes again and it is impossible not to feel its might and be enchanted by it; and then, some more minutes with a mid-tempo and gentle sound until it fades out.

We have now the amazing and nebulous 20-minute "Eris", whose first passage is like floating on the universe and listening only to the atmosphere's sound, of course it makes sense judging by the song title, so an ambient-spacey moment is delivered in its first six minutes, which I could say was a positive surprise because if I heard this without knowing the author, I would never think it was a Monarch Trail's song. And though the sound changes a bit after the seventh minute, the spacey essence prevails. Here they changed the bombastic symphonic sound for an ambient prog-electronic one, more in the vein of Tangerine Dream, I repeat, a positive surprise. Just when I thought the whole track would be like that, at minute eleven the guys return to their original form and deliver eight minutes of wonderful instrumental symphonic prog with lush keyboards on it.

Yet another epic track, "Twenty K" brings a 17-minute journey for our listening pleasure. Vocals return here, soft and delicate piano first, a variety of layers made by keyboards; then after minute three a guitar solo appears being accompanied by bass at unison, while drums and keys mark the rhythm. A kind of Marillion-esque passage comes next with Baird showing his piano skills, creating a classical music universe. Though we have the amazing contributions from Lamont and Verginella (two amazing musicians, by the way), it is Baird who takes the leadership and is in charge of the journey, creating countless nuances and sounds with his multiple keyboards. Of course it is important to mention the great participation of Kelly Kereliuk on his powerful yet delicate guitar work. After minute 10 there is another nice change, soft neo-prog with an spacey seasoning, joining what the previous both songs / worlds / sides offered.

Now we have the shortest ones left. First "Moon to Follow" which could also be considered an epic due to its 10- minute length. Its a song full of cadence, soft sounds that provide a sense of ease and tranquility, rhythms easy to dig, great instrumentation that mixes once again neo prog with classical music and spacey atmospheres. The sound is so gentle and wonderfully flows, and it is great when Steve Cochrane's guitar solo appears, making a highlight but also opening the gates to a new passage.

And last but not least, the only true short song here haha, "Afterthought" which is a piano oriented track that, to be honest, could belong to the Rick Wakeman's repertoire. It is a nice way to say goodbye to this long but very good album full of changes, surprises and versatility.

As usual, Monarch Trail have delivered a high-quality album, a bit long, maybe, but wonderful.

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