CHASING THE DRAGONFLY

It was love at first sight when I first heard "Chasing The Dragonfly," the second album by the Spanish band Galadriel. The transparent sound, featuring the high voice of Jesús Filardi, always accompanied by a pleasant reverb, hit me like a bomb. The style of the music, with its crystal-clear contributions from each member and the always simmering atmosphere often driven by percussion, immediately resonated with me.

Galadriel creates symphonic rock, blending it with neo-prog, world music, and New Age. It sounds a bit like Jon Anderson on an experimental spree. Don't get me wrong, personally, I think the cut and paste structure of the music adds value to the whole. The album ranges from swirling to languid, from mesmerizing to captivating. Well, if you want to catch a dragonfly, sometimes you have to perform some strange acrobatics.

Those who immerse themselves in the band's mindset will be rewarded with beautiful things. Take the violin in the opener Senshi, a track where a Peruvian percussion instrument helps set the rhythm, or the bolero Alveo, where, among the characteristic drum rolls, there's also room for a bit of sparkling piano. In the other tracks, that beautiful Mediterranean sound continues to captivate. Under A Full-Coloured Sky is built around a marimba-like keyboard pattern with a sitar sound added in. Oops, there's also a Spanish guitar. The album closes with the 18-minute The Gray Stones Of Escalia. The excellent vocal lines and equally excellent lyrics completely immerse you again. At the end, there are two guitar pieces with in between Galadriel's signature: intoxicating musical incense.

I love it when musicians show their mastery. The members of Galadriel know exactly what they can do and what they can't. On "Chasing The Dragonfly," you can clearly hear that the group sound is greater than the sum of its parts. I consider myself fortunate.

Originally posted on www.progenrock.com