AIRE

Product's second album is Aire, a concept album based on the life of Galileo and about a personal struggle between church and science. The album contains seventeen songs divided into two acts. The first act is about the frustrations of trying to be somebody in a material world void of answers. The second act is about the conflict between church, science, and politics. Like Product's debut On Water (released in 2000), all of the music was written and performed by Arman Christoff Boyles (vocals, guitars, keyboards) and Scott Rader (drums and bass), with a few guest vocalists and musicians.

Again, like On Water, Aire is constructed in a very Floydian-like fashion, consisting of many mellow, spacey pieces with louder sections interspersed throughout and the occasional use of sound effects. The strongest comparison of the music to other bands are definitely Porcupine Tree and, as noted before, Pink Floyd. On occasion it sort of resembles Marillion's Brave in places. However, even with these influences, Product stills sounds like its own thing and a number of the songs are quite original.

Of the seventeen songs, highlights include the radio-friendly (in a Porcupine Tree kind of way) Age of Reason, the complex percussion-oriented Here Comes Tomorrow, the ballad-like Still Here with its haunting piano, the Porcupine Tree-influenced Other Worlds, Fall with its haunting and Floydian feel, and The Calling which resembles a Floydian acoustic piece ending with wonderful guitar solo.

I really enjoyed Aire a great deal and find it to be a great sophomore release. Is it as good or better than their masterpiece debut On Water? Not quite. There are a few songs where Boyles' vocals are difficult and drowned out by the music. But the main reason I can't consider Aire to be a masterpiece is that it lacks the energy of their debut. It just doesn't have the punch that would take it over the edge. It's much more mellower and spacier. Even so, it earns a well deserved four stars and would make an excellent addition to any prog rock collection. Highly recommended to fans of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree.