ACCELERATION THEORY, PART ONE - ALIENA

In continuum is a musical project founded and headed by Dave Kerzner, a prominent contemporary musician in the world of prog, most famous for the one-off project Sound of Contact, and while the latter was mostly centered around a crossover sound that approached both progressive rock and pop, In Continuum has a rather spacey, sci-fi edge to it, meaning that the music also gets a bit psychedelic at times, yet once again developing around the idea of a modern crossover prog sound, one that takes into account various influences and attempts to present itself as a polished, soundscape-y mixture of classic prog writing with modern production. Furthermore, the band's 2019 debut album titled 'Acceleration Theory, Part One - AlienA' features an impressive array of collaborators and guests, including Marco Minnemann, Randy McStine, Steve Hackett, Steve Rothery, Nick D'Virgilio, among others.

The music on 'Acceleration Theory, Part One' is as mentioned before, a fine amalgamation of progressive rock writing with pop and psychedelic sensibilities, sometimes reminiscent of the music of Rick Miller, for example. Rather melodic, often very mellow and even melancholic, the sci-fi themes of the record are a generally good fit for an album that is not really indulgent yet still sufficiently eclectic. At times, however, it feels like this is one of these stereotypical modern prog albums that get too predictable and monotonous, perhaps given the strong influence of Pink Floyd, I imagine, or the reliance on moody synth passages and washed-out melodies. On a more positive endnote, this album does have several really good moments, like the instrumental opening, a very fine tune that sets a nice tone, followed by 'Crash Landing' - an evocative and energetic piece. Other great moments include the more dynamic tracks 'Two Moons Setting With the Sun' and 'Scavengers', both of which are perfect examples of the songwriting strengths of Kerzner. The 11-minute epic 'Hands of Time' is another great highlight of the album, which is generally really good but with several derivative episodes.