TURQUOISE

Another interesting discovery in the world of modern Polish Prog, Turquoise came from the town of Lesko in south-eastern Poland and appeared at the dawn of the millenium, featuring female singer Katarzyna Jajko along with guitarist Alexander Zelazny, drummer Marcin Zwonarz, bassist Sebastian Klus and keyboardist Marek Sokol.Their self-titled debut was released on Ars Mundi in 2002.

On their first effort Turquoise played melodic Neo Progressive Rock, typical of the style established by QUIDAM, with emphasis on the lyricism and the elaborate melodies.And the band had all the right elements to contribute something attractive to the scene: An excellent female vocalist with an ethereal and crystalline voice supported by melodic, sligthly symphonic and deeply atmospheric arrangements.The music is mostly smooth and dreamy with occasional stronger guitar riffing but the majority of this album is based on interesting solos, atmospheric synths and the changing moods created by the alternation between soft but vocal- heavy moments and secure instrumental themes.This way Turquoise manage to come up with a release full of memorable material without being accesible, taking care of any listener fond of albums with melodic content.

This is definitely an excellent album for all fans of modern Polish Prog in the vein of QUIDAM, ANAMOR, SATELLITE or MILLENIUM.But this is also a strongly recommended debut for all Progressive Rock fans, who love deep atmospheres over complexity...3.5 stars.