THE AGE OF INNOCENCE

Although this particular CD was released in 2018, I believe the album itself was probably released earlier, as all songs are copyright 2013, and given there is also another new release by Flight 09 on the same label with songs copyright 2016 I think it is likely they are both reissues. But it is hard to find information on this band, who hail from Tashkent in Uzbekistan, and have now been operating in one form or another for more than 30 years. I have previously reviewed their two albums prior to this one, 'Human Nature' and 'Signs of the Water', both of which had the band as a trio as did the two albums prior to that, so there has been some significant change as the band has expanded to a quintet. Founders Igor Savich (guitars, vocals, keyboards, bass) and Constantine Savich (bass) are of course still there, but there is a new drummer in Shamil Nadjaf-Zade, as well as keyboard player Sergey Shapovalov and an additional singer in Tatyana Serikbeyeva. However, while Tatyana does take lead vocals at times, such as on the upbeat "Every Night", for the most part she doesn't seem to be very involved at all.

Although the lyrics are in English, it is obvious that Igor isn't a native speaker, which does give it a certain feeling. In addition, the production feels really quite basic, and there are times when some of the sounds are quite jarring and jagged as opposed to smooth and harmonious. This is particularly true on "Under A Black Sun", where the snare drum is way too high in the mix and threatens to take over the song, which annoyingly fades out as opposed to ends, who does that anymore? Musically this is neo prog for the most part, although there are times when it does become rock with progressive overtones. It is a solid album, as opposed to indispensable, but it is interesting to see the group expand the line-up which must make it much easier for them to gig, as previously Igor had to provide keyboards and guitar at the same time. The album feels as if it came out in the Nineties, and on cassette as opposed to CD, and is very much for fans of that era.

Uzbekistan band FLIGHT 09 have been a going concern since 1986, and are among the real veterans of the Uzbek rock music scene. To my knowledge they have released 6 albums so far, although they may have more albums that hasn't been made available in western hemispheres as well. "The Age of Innocence" dates back to 2014, and was released through Uzbekistan label Iosis.

How much of an audience this band will have outside of Uzbekistan based on their music alone I cannot tell. That they orient their material towards melodic rock should give them a broader general reach, but if the material on this album is strong enough to make a strong impression is something I'm really unsure about. There are some fine moments and striking details to enjoy though, and this album merits a check by the curious for those reasons.