TEMPLATE FOR A GENERATION

Darwin's Radio's second album is a record containing only three songs, each over 10 minutes, but none of them feeling the length at all. A spectacular display of how neo-prog is really not just an 80's fad of synth solos and flashy vocals.

The opener, "The Illusion is Freedom" is the longest, at 19 minutes, but seems to swing through it without boring, like much of the album. Piano leads the way through this one, with a nice opening section, and little touches of virtuosity throughout. A middle section has a couple of nods to Neal Morse, with a very symphonic feel in places. The lyrics are another sort of anti the machine sort, but more classy and less angry, like most songs with those themes. A very good song. Replayable, despite it's length, and some great vocal melodies for those who love singing as loud as they can (which I do, a lot)

The next is "Breathe It In", the shortest (lol, short) at 11.5 minutes. This song has a heavy guitar feel throughout, as opposed to the piano and synths of the opener, and would fit well in the heavy prog category on its own. I suppose it's good Darwin's Radio have made each song a different style, since there are only 3. This song is the best melodically, although the distorted riff can be a bit distracting at times. More nice piano touches and the classic neo-prog synths give this one a nice layer. Probably my favourite on the album, but maybe just because this is the best to sing really loudly.

Finally, "The Age Of Broken Reason", which returns to a softer style done in the opener, but is more guitar/synth based as opposed to piano. Some more nice lyrics, for those who like dystopian sort of stuff, and has probably the best solo of the album.

An easy 5 stars, and I know I only really give 5 star reviews, because I only review albums I adore basically. Get this if you like neo-prog, catchy melodies, piano, long songs or just if you want something new.

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