ISOLATION

After the splendid "As Far As The Eye Can See" I had great expectations concerning the new SUNCHILD album "Isolation". When I entered the disc in my player, the first sounds proceeding from the speakers, were very promising. After a while however I had to find out, that the thrill of the Sunchild sound had gone. No longer brilliantly arranged woodwind sections or sparkling folk-like interventions from the Bayan to spice up the sound of Antony Kalugins brainchild. The music moves in a cumbersome way from part to part and from song to song. Without the woodwinds and the strings the music sounds arid and colourless, perhaps Kalugins way of musically underlining the meaning of the word isolation, but resulting in a boring sort of music. It seems as if Kalugin had wanted to make another Pink Floyd album, but things aren't that simple. To be honest, Kalugins keyboard playing just isn't strong enough to fill the gaps. He doesn't have the skills to keep you captivated, nor the virtuosity to bedazzle the listener in order to make him forget the weakness of the compositions. In my opinion he should have thought twice before dismissing all his trump cards from the musical deck. Another strong point from the previous album also appears to be absent on "Isolation". The sparkling Kate Bush like vocals of Olya Chernova have been replaced by the grumpy voice of Zhenya Lenkov, which hardly brings any relief to the as always irritating vocals of Antony Kalugin. I know, they sing neatly in tune, but their vocal timbres thoroughly spoil the last chance to enjoy the music, which is like the cover: grey. Surrounded by so many brilliant musicians, why does he sing the major parts himself? Just listen to the beginning of the title track, an incredible ego-tripping, that makes your skin crawl! It's astonishing that a musical genius like Antony Kalugin has produced an album like this. I sincerely hope that his next album will bring back the light again. Meanwhile, the best I can give is a two star rating. Whistler.