SNY ANIOłÓW

''Quidam'' was not only an excellent debut but also the opening gate to wide recognition for the band.In early 97' Quidam played live for the first time abroad (Holland), while a few months later Andy Latimer invited Emila Derkowska and Ewa Smarzyńska to participate on the opening act of the Polish tour of Camel.The summer was also quite busy for the band, being part of the Proglive 97' line-up but unfortunately flutist Ewa Smarzyńska quit shortly after to be replaced by Jacek Zasada.In February 98' Quidam return with their sophomore effort ''Sny aniolów'' (Rock- Serwis label), also released in an English version by Musea under the title ''Angel's dream''.

Quidam continue delivering some fantastic musicianship with this new album, atmospheric Neo/Symphonic Progressive Rock with numerous New Age/Folk touches and offered with the strongest production to be met, maybe a bit folkier than their debut.The album gives away a pleasant positive atmosphere all the way, hailed by the dreamy voice of Derkowska, the ethereal melodic guitar performance of Maciej Meller and the beautiful keyboards of Zbyszek Florek.The overall result is close to bands like SATELLITE, COLLAGE, MOSTLY AUTUMN and IONA.There is a strong amount of lovely flute breaks and intros among the pieces to offer a more bucolic taste accompanied by the modern approach the band takes on Progressive Rock, full of light symphonic instrumentals, vocal-based parts and series of sensitive guitar soloing.There is also space for some warm acoustic passages with a folky edge with Derkowska's clean chords really shining.Eventually ''Sny aniolów'' is characterized by the memorable tunes all over, the trully artistic performances and the almost trippy atmosphere of the compositions, all drawn with a high degree of melodic content.

If you run over these CD's, I would easily recommend the Polish version, though Musea Records made things easier by providing more recently a double-CD version of the release with both the Polish and English editions.Fascinating smooth Melodic Progressive Rock of great value and easily recommended.