TIME SILENT RADIO II

Echolyn is a band I have long struggled with. Are they really progressive? Yes, on the face of it but there is such a strong focus on songwriting that, for me, it ceases to be progressive except in a neo sense. I've always felt they were too weighty on the vocals and had a certain self-indulgence that was off-putting lyrically and vocally. Yet, there were certainly flashes of brilliance. The Fountainhead for instance, opening track of their 1st album, is epic and timeless for me. An all-time great track.

Regarding this new release, I am still absorbing it as it is a lot. On first blush, that length seems wholly unjustified. Just tighten everything up and make it a single album, I say. It loses distinction in its length. I also find it wearying in its conscious effort to create "hooks". Are they trying to write hits? Certainly the production is A+ for the most part and it seems radio-friendly. But just considering it on its musical value I find it confusing though fairly compelling most of the time. Clearly my struggles with this band continue. I want to like it. There are plenty of things I dig but they often become meaningless in short order.

You can't have your foot in both worlds. Echolyn is a band that seems to be facing backwards while trudging forward.

Extremely listenable. Great as what I call "Progzak"...stuff that sounds good but with little that is going to grab my attention away from bill paying, bookkeeping, etc...Don't get me wrong. I kind of like my "progzak" playlist as it crackles with proggy vibes and ideas , which is great as background. But, when I attend to it it bores me to revulsion. Strange how that works.

There is a lot of Progzak out there these days. All the nauseating Neo stuff is everywhere. Echolyn is better than most of that and the general arranging skills are quite good if not groundbreaking.

I give it 5 stars for its sound and production. Honestly, I'm on the fence between 3 or 4 stars musically. It's a solid 3 with lots of 4 star splashes, shall we say!

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