Denis Taton

Issue 28 - 2nd Quarter 2002

With the considerable amount of hard rock/symphonic releases showing up in record shops and in our offices, it is quite difficult for a modest reviewer like myself to find an outstanding record.  I would not go as far as saying that I found the one record that you would use to surprise your prog fan friends, but this American production from San Diego is at least very easy to approach, with a very good overall aftertaste.  Without surrending to the usual clichés of the genre - high pitch vocals, guitar outbursts, keyboard naps and bass drum thumping -, the 5 piece act delivers simple and well thought melodies.  The singer is more of a David Bowie than James LaBrie, which is a welcome change.  You'll find no heavy guitars nor overdose of keyboards but a very smooth music which is very nice to listen to.  Some will probably discard this as elevator music but I for one really enjoyed the diversity of the eleven songs and would strongly recommend the last track.  Rush and Journey are not very far, even though it is not at the same level of complexity of these two references.  I'll have a special mention for the talented drummer and the guitar player, who plays intelligently even if, again, the music is accessible.  Even the simplest of things can stand out and stay in your mind without an obvious reason.