PATCHWORK

This French album combines a classic neo-prog sound - which to my ears sounds a little more like early Pendragon than Fish-era Marillion, with a bit more emphasis on the keyboards than either band - with the excellent vocals of frontwoman Maiko, whose singing, influenced by the "chanteuse" style, is reminiscent of a French Annie Haslam. Marillion fans will be interested to hear Steve Rothery's guest solo on the closing track, a live recording of Folle Marie from when the band were supporting Marillion on the Seasons' End tour, though I think few others will consider it a particularly high priority release - it's a pleasant enough album but it doesn't really add much new to the format.