FULL SCALE

This came highly recommended to me but I had to wait for it as they sold out their first pressing. My first impressions were not that favourable as keyboard led Neo Prog isn't at the top of my list. To be fair though I wasn't giving the music my full attention. Well after repeated listens these guys have won me over.The synths are great and the guitarist can flat out play.The vocalist has this uncanny resemblance to Marco from SYLVAN which is a plus as I really like his vocals. The songs themselves have some thoughtful lyrics with a lot of humour.

"Shifting Sands And Turning Tides" features some good synth work, piano and vocals. Mood shifts abound and check out the guitar playing after 6 minutes as he goes on a bit of a tear. "Oceans Deep" again brings to mind that these guys are the UK version of SYLVAN. I prefer the mellow passages on this song especially the synths. "Listening To Ghosts" has some excellent guitar as he really lets it rip.This is such a catchy tune. Spacey synths to end it. "Take A Holiday" is a very uptempo, fun song, including a funny Carribean section, as well as the sound of an ice cube dropping into a glass.

"At First Sight" is mellow for the most part with tempo changes galore. Drums dominate 5 minutes in. Some nice guitar work, as he plays the same melody over and over, but higher up the scales each time. "Touch Sensitive" is my favourite song on this record. It's quite heavy and the soaring guitar 4 minutes in is so beautiful as a vocal melody comes in.The soundscape to follow is fantastic. "Wallflower" could have been released as a single. The drumming is fabulous to open. The chorus is great with back ground synths. "Simple Life" has some good bass and synths early. There is a jazzy sound 4 minutes in. He's so exhuberant when he shouts "The sun's still in the sky !" Uplifting guitar to follow. Nice.

If you are a fan of SYLVAN I know you'll love this cd, but any fan of the Neo genre needs to check this out.