REFESTRAMUS

Conversations with Ian, who he knew from his radio show, led to Jerry who immediately agreed to working on the album, which was news to Derek who had thought he was just recording a single song, which in turn led to a writing frenzy over the following year. Craig Cairns was brought in to undertake the lead vocals, and is someone I am sure we will be hearing a great deal more of as he has a great set of pipes, while Eric Castliglia does a fine job on guitars (plus there are other assorted guests, all detailed in the booklet along with their URL's which is a nice touch).

This album reminds me of what was coming out of the American prog scene in the mid Nineties, in a good way. Before Spock's Beard seemed to dominate that scene, at least to us in the UK, there were quite a few nice prog bands coming out of the States who often mixed a more AOR and commercial style into their music, and this is a fine example of that with nice hooks and a style which allows the listener to get into the album from the first time of playing. It is light, yet varied, with the keyboards solidly at the heart of it all, the rhythm section holding it tight, guitars crunching when the need arises, and more than a few hints of pop elements. One may not think so from the title, but "Agent Mikrovolnovka («Микроволновка, воробей»)" has a great chorus, although I wonder what Craig thought when he saw the lyrics. The first half of the album is dominated by the "Wasteland" trilogy while the second half is a quasi- conceptual suite of tracks known as "Russian Influences", and ends with a bonus track that's a "progged up" and translated cover of Russian pop star Zemfira's 2000 hit "Forgive Me, My Love." It must be said it these last songs may have some Russian influences in the lyrical thinking, but not in the music itself.

The overall result is a nice lighthearted prog pomp album which I have thoroughly enjoyed and am sure that many others will feel the same way. This is easily available through Bandcamp.

This is the style of prog which the American do so very well, mixing melodic rock and pomp into the genre to create something which is accessible and enjoyable at the first hearing without taking it too much into commercial pap. This does not feel like a new album in any way, as it feels as if it has come to us fully formed from nearly 50 years ago with a mid-late Seventies styling. The use of both male and female lead singers does give this something of a project feel as opposed to a band, which in some ways is a real shame, but given just how powerful both Chris and NIDA one can understand why they have both been utilised. "Mr. Darwin", which has female lead, is way more bluesy with some great harmonica and a step back to the early Seventies as opposed to late. It is an incredibly varied album, and the first time I played it I found I enjoyed all the individual songs yet for me there was something which did not quite come together when playing them one straight after the other. I think it is because each one comes across so well that when there is such a shift in musical styles it can be jarring as one is not expecting it, but the more it is played the more one understands just why this makes the album so interesting.

Now there is a core quartet one wonders if that means the band is going to get out and there and perform some gigs, and what are they going to do regarding lead singers? Given that Derek took a break from the scene for some 30 years let us hope he continues to make up for lost time and that we do not have to wait too long for the next album as this is yet another delight for all fans of classic prog.