Rod Chappell, bassman and one of three lead vocalists here is ex Zon. Now there's a name to conjure with, as the cliché goes. For Chappell at least, immortality amongst the prog/pomp cognoscenti is assured.
He's carrying on that hard won but firmly established pomp/ prog /
AOR tradition in Canada's best kept secret,
Lightspeed.
Saga,
Pink Floyd and
Kansas fans will be able to mine '
Waves's rich seams of passionate, beautifully crafted songs till their little hearts are content. All comparisons are odious of course, and while
Lightspeed have clearly been influenced by the best in the business, they unarguably have a signature sound.
The band's music is as precise and controlled as a well oiled machine, yet it's passionate, often instinctive and frequently emotional. Most tracks are underpinned by an awesome harmonic ingenuity, clearly the result of good producing, arranging and three strong vocalists.
'Things To Come' strikes that perfect pose between prog and melodic rock, so often successfully struck by fellow countrymen, Saga. The rising vocal swell behind the neat hook turns a good song into something special.
Slotting in an acoustic based song -
'Young At Heart' - in the track three position shows considerable cool and confidence. Its summery, America-esque aura doesn't come in total contrast to the surrounding material, serving simply as another strand of '
Waves' variegated musical textures.
Thankfully,
'Waves of Emotion', an audacious homage to
Pink Floyd, cleverly manages to avoid falling into the twin traps of parody and plagiarism.
Elsewhere,
'One Last Time' is a delicate composition, sweetened with soughing strings;
'Innocence Of Life' is constructed on more of a rock guitar framework, resolving in a beautifully crafted hook, while the edgily rhythmic
'Bridges' swims out strongly into a sea of keyboards.
The production throughout is the epitome of taste. An admirable expression of the less is more philosophy. That doesn't mean 'Waves' wimps out. What it does mean is an album full of
AOR's unironic joy, unassuming, but gripping in its own quiet way, coupled with Prog's denser, more complex constructions. You might think that this combination just wouldn't work, and there are a couple of tracks where it doesn't quite jell, but for the most part it does, very effectively indeed.
Written by
Brian Thursday, April 26, 2007
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