WAR AND PEACE & OTHER SHORT STORIES

Of all the new prog albums of 2011, I found this album as the most original in terms of not particularly being inspired by the past giants of Prog Rock. The album is very melodious overall. While being very accessible, all the songs are intelligently structured to give you a sense of adventure. I must note that I find Sean's voice a bit strange and sometimes a bit odd (I mean his pronunciations are oddly too clear for anyone British), but at the same time he has got a smoothness and a wide octave range-- making me pay more attention to his vocal works than usual. The thing about the album is that he is not living in the past while delivering a very progressive rock album. Many talented artists in contrast are producing too many albums with retro sounds and even retro styles (for instance Wobbler's Rite of the Dawn is too much like an album produced in 1971). Progressive rock had always been innovative in the past; its not just about using Mellotrons. Sean was clearly inspired and he had something to say; he did not make this album just to prove that he loves to make progressive music. The second criticism about his work, other than his kind-of-strange vocals style, is that some parts of the music seems too poppy in terms of structure. May be that's what made the album very accessible. This is what made his 20-minute Epitaph seem like a 5 minute song in a good way. I would highly recommend this album for its inspired composition and presentation.