THE DAWN AFTER THE STORM

For their second album "The Daw nafter the Storm", Brazilian act Tempus Fugit reinforced its symphonic prog sound and managed to surpass the material of their very good debut effort regarding expressiveness and inventiveness. TF almost equals the captivating majesty of their compatriots Quaterna Réquiem and gains a more solid sophistication than that accomplished by Dogma (another compatriot band). The band's most solid virtue is its capability to create a proper mood for each one of the musical ideas, and regarding this point, the guitarist and the keyboardist are the definitive "heroes". The band's overall sound is solidly influenced by classic Camel as well as by the more ambitious side of neo- prog, while adding typical flavors of South American melodic sense. 'Daydream' opens up the album with a glorious hook, expanded through well ordained motif and tempo shifts in an 8-minute span. The 4-part namesake track keeps a similar bombast with a bit more spectacularity and a bit less frenzy. 'Never' is a slower, melancholic piece, in many ways very related to the standards of neo. 'Tocando Você' finds the band continuing on the melancholic vein, but this time with a bucolic tendency, based on the input of acoustic guitars and mandolin. For 'The Fortress' the bombast of the first two tracks is retaken enthusiastically, with much success in providing vivacious colors during both the faster and the slower passages - the slower passages are comprised in the beautiful interlude, which brings a very evocative motif. 'Prelúdio de Sevilla' is an acoustic guitar solo encapsulated in the Segovia ideology:an academic refurbishment of Flamenco-inspired musical elements. 'The Sight' is a prog ballad heavily isnpired by conteporary Ceml, while 'O Dom do Voar' brings some more of the bucolic side of Tempus Fugit, this time closer to a mixture of Celeste and Anthony Phillips. Last, 'Discover' brings an attractive mixture of symphnic and neo, with a final section that perhaps should have been developed further in order to make it a more impressive climax. It is a very good conclusion but I can´t help imagining that it might have been better. Anyway, "The Dawn after the Storm" is Tempus Fugit's most accomplished effort, and it surely is one of the best prog recordings to come out of Brazil during the 90s. A must for every serious symphonic prog collector.