WILLOWGLASS

Willowglass is pure symphonic prog; lots of mellotron, synthesisers, flutes, acoustic guitar, choirs, and so on, with no vocals. The atmosphere is mostly laid back and at times relaxing, with all focus on recapturing the sound of 70s symphonic prog. In fact the production of Willowglass would cause anyone to mistake it for 70s music, and this isn't a bad thing. The album isn't very adventurous and safely stays within the confines of the sound it tries to mimic, so don't expect much originality or a cool new sound.

Even though the music here isn't very risky or creative it is still very enjoyable. Though the songs offer little diversity there aren't any bad ones. One little issue I have with the album is that it can lose a bit of interest at times and it all sounds sort of the same; it works better as background music rather than with full concentration. But looking past this I actually enjoy it. My favourite songs are Garden and Waking The Angels. I also love the artwork. It creates a good indication of the sort of atmospheric music likely to be heard. (In fact it's what influenced me to listen to this album.)

Overall it's an enjoyable album for a nice relaxed listen. It makes me happy to hear things like this nowadays. I recommend this for symphonic prog fans. 3.5 stars

I also recommend Willowglass' next album Book of Hours which has more direction and better compositions.