THE DAWN AFTER THE STORM

After a stunning if somewhat naive debut, TEMPUS FUGIT fell to the sophomore jinx. While the overall symphonic style and components are intact and the quality of production improved, something is missing here that was present in spades on "Tales from a Forgotten World" and rekindled on "Chessboard" many years later. I may be remiss, and hindsight is 20/20 after all, but this intangible might explain why the group entered an extended hiatus not long after this release. The synchronicity took leave before the band, as is too often the case.

I take issue with the unconvincing toughening of the group's sound as on the title cut and rather mundane melodies of pieces like "Daydream", and the unfulfilled buildup of "The Fortress", resorting to more caterwauling instead of the trademark dramatics. Even the mellower and pleasant "Never" sounds almost MORish next to the brilliance of the infrequent but emotive vocal tunes we had heard previously.

Luckily, there is one significant area of growth apart from the technological improvements, and that is the group's more ready embrace of their generally sublimated Brazilian roots. This is felt chiefly on the Portuguese titled instrumental tracks "Tocanda Voce" and "O Doam de Voar" with their acoustic guitar flourishes, in the latter blended with cascading keyboards that alone could put the British masters to shame if they weren't already in such a transcendent setting. "The Sight" is the most alluring of the 3 vocal tracks thanks to a rich bass line and suspenseful melody. Mello's vocals are less significant here than the instrumentation, and a better balance would be achieved years hence. "Discover" is another credible performance with an especially effective change of scene bisecting its 8 minutes.

Overall, this weaker effort reflects not so much dawn as the dusk of this phase of the TEMPUS FUGIT story, yet it remains a worthwhile if less essential group release. Like in twilight, individual forms are less discernible and the overall view is not so coherent. Yet in other areas, particularly the hotblooded Latin nature of Luiz' acoustic guitar, the group has grown, or at least branched out successfully. A long and apparently bountiful night would follow, from which TEMPUS FUGIT would emerge robustly.