DIMENSIONAUT

Well I think the big question that is on everyone's mind is, does Simon Collins sound like his father, Phil Collins, vocally? The answer is 'Yes' he does, but not too an overly large extent. My feeling is that you get little wisps of Phil's voice here and there from Simon throughout the DIMENSIONAUT album, which is kind of a good thing because you are reminded of a legendary symphonic prog vocalist, but not to the point where it fully takes over one's individuality as an artist/musician. In this case, Simon Collins is his own man in the prog music world at this point, but he still got some help along the way to get there. 

Heeding some of his father's advice, Simon Collins is pointed into the direction to work with legendary producer/session musician in Dave Kerzner and have the album mixed by none other than Nick Davis, who in my opinion really made his sound engineering/mixing talents very evident on the 2007 Genesis remasters. Suffice to say, Sound Of Contact are in great hands as far as album production goes and it did prove to be a good point of direction bestowed by Phil Collins to his son. Nothing like good old fatherly advice. ;)

As far as the music is concerned, for all you Genesis fans out there, I shall make the point very clearly that Sound of Contact do not sound like early, middle or even late Genesis for that matter. Sound Of Contact are a band that are clearly and accurately marked in the cross over prog rock genre. There are some influences shown where the more commercial side of Sound of Contact's music do foreshadow that of Phil Collins solo career. For instance, the certain songs like Pale Blue Dot, Beyond Illumination, Closer to you and I Am (Dimensionaut) all have a very catchy, radio friendly choruses that do take me back to what Phil did with his solo career and maybe just a little bit of his work in 80's Genesis albums like Invisible Touch and We Can't Dance....ok.....so there may be a little Genesis in The Sound of Contact.  Also, Simon Collins  really does sound quite like grand master Phil when Singing the main choruses in each of those songs. It's a nice treat really and a great reminder of a past legend. 

Moving forward, on the more progressive side of things with regards to Dimensionaut's album structure, there is a monster epic at the end of the album clocking in at just a little under 20 minutes called, Möbius Slip. I must say that I was quite impressed with this track and it is divided into 4 suites. The first part, The Difference Engine shows a more space rock, Pink  Floyd inspired track that incites some similarities to Welcome To The Machine while part 2 (Perihelion continuum) envokes the heavier side to Sound Of Contact's musical side still greatly showing strong influence of that of Pink Floyd and a bit of Yes, especially the intro. Moving on to part 3, Salvation Sound and part 4 All Worlds All Times do sum up a very nice grand finale that actually does leave the listener wanting a bit more just because those 2 last parts of Möbius Slip have so much energy and edge to them that it's a shame you have to stop foot tapping. Other heavier, less comercial sounding  progressive rock songs of the album can be found in The Cosmic Distance Ladder, which Kelly Nordstrom's guitar sounds quite good and the Sound of Contact opener has less of a poppier- commercial sound to it, which again has traces of Pink Floyd, Steven Wilson and Rush with the opening guitar lick specifically. 

All in all, I can say that Dimensionaut is a decent album but not that of a concept album. I felt the conceptual story of the futuristic world and galaxy traveller trying to get back to the planet where he fell in love with a woman was rather stale to say the least. I don't like to be overly critical, but the inter-dimensional love story has grown rather prosaic to my ears and thoughts for that matter. It's not unique or really all that exciting. For me, this is where album loses points and I also feel that Demonsionaut, as a whole, is far too long. This album is around 74 minutes long and I can't say that a cross over prog album that is 70+ minutes is really gonna sit well with me, meaning I felt my mind wondering a bit at times cause of the nature and style of this album. I guess I should admit, I don't love the Cross over prog style genre that much and it is far beyond my area of knowledge and expertise, so that is another reason why the album doesn't rank as high as should with me, but out of respect for whom Simon Collins dad is I just had to check this album out and to see what all the fuss is about considering the fact that Simon Collins's, Sound of Contact band is up for nomination in the 'Break Through' artist category for the 2013 Prog Rock Awards. Also, I do want to say that I think Simon Collins is the real deal and very multi-talented at that. He can Drum, be Percussive and sing all very well. He even has a flare for album production as well, especially being under the tutorage of Dave Kerzner. Collins, along with Kerzner, included a cello on tracks 1,5,7 and 11. A female vocalist (Hannah Storbart) for versatility and contrast for the track Only Breathing Out.  In any case, Dimensionaut is a very decent debut and I think I will take it upon myself to explore Sound Of Contact's music as time goes on because the Dimensionaut album does showcase a ton of promise and for that reason alone I think Sound Of Contact are worth keeping tabs on. I really do hope they get the recognition they deserve and produce wonderful music for years to come. After all, Simon Collins does represent the Phil Collins bloodline and is what I think, the new hope in prog rock music to introduce younger generations to the wonderful world of progressive music. 

3/5

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