O

''R'' meant to be the first and last work of original drummer and founding member of Direction Francois Potvin, who left the band due to work commitments.He was replaced by Jean-Claude Tremblay but actually this would take some time, because Tremblay was under contract with a few artists.Eventually he joined the band in 2005, leading to the recordings of the sophomore Direction effort, again under a simple letter title, ''O''.

''R'' included the usual mistakes a junior band makes, but ''O'' simply heads to the right direction.The first couple of tracks though are a mix of prog and Alternative Rock with edgy guitars but also nice vocals and shifting climates.''Rien de Moins'' and ''La résurrection'' are quite a surprise.Simple-structured mellow numbers featuring excellent vocals and magnificent changing keyboard work by Serge Tremblay, including mellotron, organ and synths.''Je te Traverserai'' is another straightforward composition but still the vocals are passionate and the overall performance energetic.''De toute facon'' is possibly the less interesting number in ''O''.Too long and rather repetitive ballad with no particular inspiration and only some nice grandiose synths in the middle.But the huge bet for the band would be the 22-min. epic ''Coucher de Nuit'', which finally ends up as a very strong compositions.Crunchy guitars, both flashy and atmospheric synthesizers in the vein of PENDRAGON and ARENA, dreamy acoustic workouts, smooth string sections, expressive vocals and some good dose of mellotron produce a complete Classic Prog-inspired epic of many different soundscapes.''L'éclosion'' will close the album in a calm but good way.Soft piano/organ-driven ballad much led by Tremblay's vocals but with some nice guitar and synths' solos as well.

An obvious improvement over Direction's debut,''O'' is propably the place to start regarding the band's discography.Emotional, passionate and energetic Progressive Rock with even some stunning moments.Recommended.