WORLD IS ROUND

Just over a year after the superb "This bread is mine", Believe return with this their fourth studio album. The line up which recorded "Bread.." remains intact, but is enhanced by the addition of keyboard player Konrad Wantrych. The band's configuration is altered slightly too, with vocalist Karol Wroblewski contributing lyrics for the first time.

The title of the album may imply a rather obvious theme, but the circles described herein are multifaceted, encompassing such areas as the life circle and the adage what goes around, comes around.

Musically, those who were entranced by the band's highly melodic previous albums will find "World is round" to be a highly satisfying sequel. Listening to songs such as the second of the two title tracks, it is easy to be drawn in superficially, and assume this to be a prog-lite affair. To do so though is to completely overlook the majestic subtleties of both the compositions and the arrangements. Perhaps it is Wroblewski's unusually trained sounding (for prog) vocals which contribute to the misconception, but listen to the following "Cut me, paste me", and a much harder, almost metallic, edge becomes apparent.

Once again the contribution on violin of Satomi offers some magnificent additional colours, her status in the mix varying between overt solos and atmospheric backgrounds. Konrad Wantrych comes to the fore on tracks like "Bored", where he adds some fine piano. Guitarist Mirek Gil's presence on the other hand is more understated than usual, with surprisingly little in the way of lead guitar solos. Such solos are not completely absent though, with "So well" in particular featuring some of Gil's finest work to date. At times there is a Marillion feel to the music here, with "New hands" sounding particularly Hogarth-esque.

Most of the tracks here are relatively short, with only the closing two part piece "Poor King of the sun/Return" extending to 10 minutes. This piece sets out rather differently to its peers, primarily due to the Kashmir atmosphere of the violin and sitar duet. As we move into more orthodox prog territories, Gil's lead guitar combines with Karol's vocals and Satomi's violin in a final push for the ultimate melody, carried all the while by keyboards which subtly draw us towards the captivating conclusion.

If I have a criticism, it is the brevity of the album, particularity the standard release. While admiring the band's policy of not padding things out for the sake of it, perhaps some of the tracks could have been developed further, or a couple more songs recorded. In all though, this is another excellent addition to the discography of this highly gifted group.

With thanks to Metal Mind Productions for the pre-release review copy. The album is released in January 2011.

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