MANNEQUIN

Music is endless, and I am always happy to discover new bands from all over the world creating music of high quality. Last year the name of Kyros came to me after reading they were invited to the Cruise to the Edge festival, so my curiosity made me want to know more about them and found that they had recently released (2024) this great modern prog / art rock album entitled 'Mannequin', whose cover album, by the way, totally caught my attention.

This is a work of a four-piece band whose creativity delivered a 10-track album that lasts almost an hour, 55 minutes of a refreshing sound that I am sure will make you have a good time. It opens with 'Taste the Day', a short two-minute introductory track that might sound like a ballad, but since these first seconds we can appreciate their mixture of acoustic and electric / electronic elements, as well as the great vocal game. It leads to 'Showtime' and oh yeah, the title speaks for itself. There is an evident 80's feeling as well as a neo-prog essence, however, as I mentioned above, the sound is quite refreshing, it is not old-fashioned at all, so despite the obvious influences I believe the label of "modern prog" really fits in. Their great musicianship is shown here, in a vertiginous ride where keyboards and drums take over at first, but then guitar and its solos as well as those great bass lines have their say. An extraordinary instrumental song, the perfect hook to make us stay and wait for the next surprise.

'Illusions Inside' changes the rhythm, it slows down a bit, however, its charm will maintain the interest. Episcopo's amazing bass lines blew up my mind, it was the first that caught my attention here, so kudos to that. Anyway, it is evident that the four members are quite talented musicians, and also that Kyros worries about the quality of the production, which sounds really neat. 'Esoterica' will make you dance, and yeah, prog is danceable of course, you can't deny it. I am sure the band has a vast names of influences which is why their music is so dynamic, so contagious and so good. From Steven Wilson to Metric, from Saga to Pure Reason Revolution, From Yes to IAMX. A guest saxophone is also heard here, adding new colors to an already colorful song. A killer track!

Honestly, while listening to the album I picture myself seeing them in concert and really having fun, it happened in almost every track, just like in 'The End in Mind' which once again has bass lines that left me mesmerized, also their keyboards with a kind of 90125 feeling is really attractive, and I love that balance of modern prog with an 80s essence that sounds like prog rock but also alt pop. There are several changes in rhythm, mood and tempo in this 8-minute track, delivering great moments with and without vocals, but always sharing top-notch quality. They are amazing composers and amazing performers.

'Digital Fear' is a shorter track with a synth-pop / electronic essence that could be used as a movie soundtrack or even as the music for a videogame. It is instrumental, and here they let us know once again that they can create music with no boundaries, reaching a vast amount of genres. 'Ghosts of You' might be the catchiest and poppiest of the tracks here, reminding me of Wham!, Michael Jackson or even New Kids On The Block, however, I am not saying this in a peyorative way, because though this might be far from prog rock, it is full of quality, so please open your mind, stand up, dance and enjoy the show. Kyros are fearless, they are not looking to please anybody before themselves, and I love that freedom.

With 'Liminal Space' the blend of pop, prog and rock solidifies, here the journey is a bit slower and calmer, however it is impossible not to move at the song's rhythm. Yeah, fans of all these genres, unite! There is a slice in this music for every one of us, so don't be afraid to bite Kyros' charm. 'Technology Killed the Kids IV' might be the best example or a neo-prog track in this album, catchy sound yeah, great use of keyboards yeah, emotional vocals and lyrics yeah, rock and spacey atmospheres yeah, constant changes yeah. Another example of how good this band is, hell yeah.

This extraordinary album finishes just as we can expect: with an extraordinary song. 'Have Hope' and its 8 minutes are the cherry on the cake, though its the ending track, Kyros let us know that they could go on and go on for ages because their creativity is endless, limitless. Not a single track sounds like other, not even the passages of a single song, they are constantly changing, reinventing themselves and offering new figures, chords, notes, emotions, challenges, and this is to me complete freedom, and though I am not a musician, if you are free to create whatever you want to, you are already a winner and you understood art.

Kyros has delivered here a gem, and I am really happy to have discovered it, so please, if you are still here reading the end of this review, I wholeheartedly invite you to join the club and listen to them.

Enjoy it!

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