THE LONG DIVISION

The band showed a lot of promise on 2008's NARROW-CASTER but blew the doors off with THE LONG DIVISION. Consisting of many references to the American political system and released in the final months of the presidential contest, it really works as a critique of the game the political parties play rather than an indictment of one party or the other. A pox on both their houses so to speak. This connection between songs lasts for roughly the first half of the album.

Great vocal arrangements and melodies with a real showcase of lead vocalist George Dobbs is the first thing you notice followed by the longer song lengths this time out filled with many instrumental sections throughout. Guitar and keyboard textures mix with melodic bass lines and well-recorded and solidly played drums to great effect. There are some great guitar and keyboard soloing where appropriate.

I've followed all the bands studio albums and videos and this album just points to a band getting more and more professional and just plain better. The future looks bright and hopefully the prog festivals will find another place for them after a 2009 showing at North Carolina's long-running ProgDay 2-day festival.