A DOORWAY TO SUMMER

I've had mixed feelings towards Moon Safari ever since hearing their music for the first time back in 2010. It's not that I don't enjoy their soft and very melodic approach to prog, but some of their material can seem to be dragged out of proportions. Take for example their debut album which features tracks that are anywhere between 6 and 25 minutes long. It took me quite some time to appreciate their work, especially some of their lengthier tracks, but now I can safely say that this band has won me over!

The debut album from Moon Safari gives us the first glimpse of the things that are yet to come. The quintet have yet not fully realized their style and thus borrow heavily from Yes. The melodies aren't yet all that memorable and the transitions between different sections within the compositions is not as smooth as I would have liked it to be, but this only means that there is room for future improvement.

The most memorable track here is Dance Across The Ocean, which might be the reason why the band still occasionally plays it live. Having said that, they also sometimes play Doorway and I never really cared much for that track. To me it almost sounds like being in a 12 minute daze that begins and then ends without actually giving me much enjoyment. A Sun Of Your Own is pretty track with one of the album's strongest choruses that might have worked even better if the composition was shortened to the 5 minute mark. We Spin The World makes up almost half of this album and, to me, this composition is not as strong as Other Half Of The Sky but the band almost makes it work thanks to their great enthusiasm throughout the track. Beyond The Door concludes the album on another soft note and but this time with a pretty lackluster melody.

Overall, this is a pretty good effort from Moon Safari which shows that the band have not yet settled into their own style but that doesn't mean that this will be a waste of an experience. Personally I would recommend starting out your collection with [Blomljud] or Lover's End and then, depending on which one you liked the most, working your way to A Doorway To Summer or Himlabacken, respectively.

**** star songs: Dance Across The Ocean (7:30) A Sun Of Your Own (9:19) We Spin The World (24:52)

*** star songs: Doorway (11:36) Beyond The Door (6:40)