THE WORLD THAT WE DRIVE THROUGH

The Tangent´s second CD was quite a surprise for me, since I was not really expecting nothing better than their first, the great The Music That Died Alone. But their debut really sounded a bit like a project and here the music is more a band efford. Living legend David Jackson is, no surprisingly, out. Theo Travis steps in and does a marvelous job on sax and flute.

As on the first CD the music is symphonic prog with strong jazzy influences (although less than on The Music That Dies alone). I like it more because it is more melodic and less experiemntal, but all the basic elements are here. Roine Stolt´s guitar solos are better than ever (actually better than his latter day works on The Flower Kings). Andy Tillson proves himself as one of prog´s best songwriters of e new generation. He is also an outstandig lyricrist, with some very insightful work. Vocals are not exceptional, but fit very well into the concept.

This is the kind of record you hear from start to finich without skipping any track. Only the bonus Exponenzgesetz is completely out of place here 14 minutes of eletronic keyboards experiments and nothing else. But since it is a bonus track, I think It´s allright

Conclusion: even better than the Tangent´s debut, at least for my ears. Great symphonic prog record much in the vein of the best Flower Kings stuff. Highly recommended!