THE LIGHTS OF A DISTANT BAY

Kamil Konieczniak of Klucze, Poland suffered the same fate that many gifted musicians who crave the more complex arenas of the musical world find themselves experiencing. Coming from a small city he found it impossible to attract any band members to play music with so ended up doing what many have undertaken in the 21st century given all the snazzy new technologies popping up and that would be to become the entire band and play all the instruments alone! And that's exactly how MOONRISE was born. Mother necessity strikes again. Konieczniak developed his musical skills at a young age and showcases his amazing ability to tackle al the instruments in his debut neo-prog release THE LIGHTS OF A DISTANT BAY which showcased not only his multi-instrumental talents and virtuoso keyboard skills but also in how gifted he was in crafting catchy complex compositions that captured the essence of bands like Marillion, Camel and the spaciest sounds of Porcupine Tree and rolled them into one.

This album of eight tracks that runs a cool dreamy 53 minutes of playing time features Konieczniak as a one man band although Łukasz Gałęziowski was recruited to handle the vocal performances which are sung entirely in the English language. Much of the album though is dedicated to lengthy instrumental passages that showcase the neo-prog trademarks of heavy atmospheric melodic prog with Hackett inspired guitar sweeps, gentle bass thumping and percussive drive with the occasional bursts of metal power chord heft. Considering this album was completely played, recorded and engineered by Konieczniak alone it's amazing because it really does sound like a "real" full band even down to the electronic drumming which doesn't sound canned. Apparently this guy spent a lot of time crafting this album and paid attention to every tiny detail which is reflected in the high caliber quality of the album's easy on the ears flowing from beginning to end without any dull moments.

"The Island" starts the album off and sets the tone for a dreamy and very polished melodic prog sequence that sounds a lot like a more sophisticated version of dream pop with cozy atmospheres and a feel good mood setting that is followed by the album's lengthiest track "Help Me I Can't Help Myself." This track introduces Konieczniak's excellent keyboard talents with a lengthy piano opening and then a series of classically inspired procession into proggier territory. A bit of guitar heft is added on "In The Labyrinth Of The Dream" bringing some of the heavier moments of Porcupine Tree to mind as well as the track "Antidotum (Soothing Song)" which also gives a wink and a nod to Mr Steven Wilson. "Full Moon" on the other hand drifts off into pure bliss with a dreamy ambient sequence that slowly slinks and swirls its way through three minutes plus of lush atmospheric elegance. The following "Memories" delivers a nice piano performance with more ambient backing. The title track closes the album with an 8 1/2 minute playing time. This track is basically a ballad in an AOR type of cheesiness but works well and features a nice guitar solo.

For a one-man band Konieczniak does a remarkable job as MOONRISE on his debut THE LIGHTS OF A DISTANT BAY. While the percussion does seem limited in retrospect, given that this is such a dreamy ambient album where sweeping atmospheres dominate the soundscapes it's really not the main focus. All in all this is a well performed, well produced and instantly enjoyable slice of millennial neo-prog. While Konieczniak doesn't exactly craft anything particularly original here, the compositions are so carefully crafted and the exuberant passion so vibrant that many fans of neo-prog can't help but to succumb to it. While not a top dog in that particular nook of the prog universe, MOONRISE's debut is an interesting slice of Polish prog in the vein of Collage, Millenium, Quidam or Albion. There is definitely a slightly unique sound that the Polish neo-proggers exhibit with a sensual style that treads lightly on the senses where every cadence and motif are suavely decorated with urbane elegance and creative continuity.