FRACTURED

Two years on from his solo release, and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Scott Cooper joined forces with guitarist D.L. Erickson in 1993 to form New Sun, and by the time of their 1995 debut they were completed by bassist Alex Kley and drummer Chris Trujillo. One can see the journey from the debut through to this one, as this carried on many similar ideas, but as is often the case when there are more players involved, each with different influences, the music has transformed. In this case it is way more polished, and while there are more people the arrangements often contain more space. Take "Glass" for example, there are times when it is solid drums, a dynamic bass (love some of the different styles Alex shows on this), a little guitar and Christopher's vocals, yet there are others where they more far more solidly into prog metal territory, taking a leaf from Threshold as opposed to Dream Theater, so it is not surprising that PA list them as Heavy Prog. Indeed, while there are times when one can easily think that one is listening to the complexity of Rush or Tiles, yet always with a melodic sensibility.

I had to smile when I heard the word "Incommunicado" in "Then & Now", as anyone into prog will always think of Marillion when they come across it, yet this number shows a more reflective side of the group, far less bombastic and thoughtful. This is one of the delights of the album in that there is a lot going on and the band have no problem at all in shifting styles, often containing a simple complexity which makes it easy to listen to yet also contains much to investigate. This does not feel like a debut, as it sounds like a band who know what they want to achieve and have the skills and chops to do just that. While it does not sound like a modern release, it also does not feel like an album which is now more than quarter of a century old, and progheads would do well to investigate this.