BLINK OF AN EYE

The "Blink Of An Eye" from modern prog stalwarts Enchant is a consistently solid set of sweetly textured, creative hard prog-rock awash in ambient neo-prog atmosphere. Feeling like a combination of modern-day Rush and Elefante-era Kansas (the "Drastic Measures" and "Vinyl Confessions" albums) with Enchant's neo-prog foundations, "Blink" is a moody, beautiful album, thoroughly engrossing to those who get swept up in the undercurrents. From swirling ballads to hard-charging rockers, "Blink" doesn't deviate far from the feel of Enchant's previous album, "Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10," but its sound is significantly more focused, without the forays into either simpler pop or edgier prog. As a result, "Blink" is a more focused, coherent set, and all the songs seem to benefit.

It may not be grandly dramatic or inventively artsy enough for some prog fans, but overall, "Blink Of An Eye" is an emotional, accessible, smartly constructed neo-prog record from a band that seems to mature and improve with each successive release. If you're a fan of song-oriented hard neo-prog (Rush, Kansas, Marillion, etc.) who had given up on Enchant because of their past mediocrity, you might want to check them out again. This is too good an album to blindly overlook, and even doubters may well find "Blink" a deep, remarkably compelling surprise.