FULL SCALE

I have only recently acquired this promising debut from Strangefish, and I've been hooked. They probably sound most similar to Genesis, but they also have traces of Yes, Marillion, and IQ in their music. If you like upbeat symphonic rock/neo-prog, then I strongly suggest trying this album out. It is one of the many hidden gems in progressive rock.

"Shifting Sands and Turning Tides" is the first song, and it is an great way to kick off the album. Beautiful keyboard and guitar work in the song, much like the rest of this album. I particularly like the faster, upbeat portions of the song which remind me of Spock's Beard. One of my favorite songs on Full Scale! "Oceans Deep" starts off slow and a bit dull, but after around 3 minutes when the keyboards begin to kick in, this is an awesome song! The next song, "Listening to Ghosts" starts off as almost a pure pop song with some slight prog influence thrown in, but eventually transcends into a full prog song. Really catchy, optimistic music with amazing vocals! Tied with the first song for my favorite of the album. "Take a Holiday" is a short (4:39) song that I really enjoy because of how extremely cheery and upbeat it is. Next we have "At First Sight" which begins slow, but evolves into a nice song with a super-catchy riff. Begining to catch a trend? "Touch Sensitive" is a pretty good song that I'm not too fond of. It's similar to the rest of the album musically, but in my opinion it lacks the excitement of other songs. "Wallflower" is a nice song focused more on guitars rather than the keyboards. The album ends with "Simple Life," a calm song and a pretty good way to end this album. I think this is better than the previous two songs, but not as good as the beginning of the album.

3.5/5 stars. Nice addition to any prog music collection, especially Neo fans.

Although a good album overall, it certainly has its low points. Firstly, the softer sections of the album are a little boring and repetitive. Secondly, the last three songs really weren't as enjoyable as the previous songs.

While it's not the most original album, it still has some nice moments reminiscent to the great stuff of the '70s. Recommended to all fans of symphonic prog, especially those of Genesis. I am really looking forward to their next album!