Agent Fox told me that it would take a while for this album to take hold.
He failed to add that when it did, it would grab you with the grip of a drowning man.
Such is the latent power of
'The Fading Ghosts of Twilight'.
Yes, it's Roine (Flowerkings/ Kaipa/ Transatlantic) Stolt, plus Nad (Infaun) Sylvan plus other Progrock Names - Jonas
Reingold and Pat Mastelotto to name but two.
Where so much progrock is aggressively in your face, this is cerebral, laid back, in places so much so it could tickle its fancy from behind.
At times it lacks the melodic momentum that we've come to expect from the Flower Kings, but that's maybe because it's a very lyrical album. The track titles are a huge hint.
It often has a dreamy weightlessness over which vocalist Sylvan conversely ponders the heavier issues, like personal integrity
(A Soldier's Tale), societal disintegration
(Wait For The Sun), middle age
(Afternoon Skies) and generally, our relationship with God, whoever he is, (and by the way, God doesn't believe in atheists). In fact, it's just like many of the classic rock bands you can hear echoing in these grooves - The Beatles, Genesis, Queen, ELO, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum and of course bits of both Flower Kings and Unifaun.
None of those influences is in any way overpowering, rather they are welcome visitors to Roine Stolt's circus of rock music.
Standing out above the others, the undulating
'Heroes & Beacons' is an absolute peach, shimmery and contemplative, it riffs elegantly on Stolt's guitar.
The vaguely ELP-ish '
A Different Sun' and
'People Like Us' aren't too far behind.
The first bites a bit harder than others and goes off tangentially on surprisingly compelling strolls through freeform Progrock land.
The second has much more of a melodic rock feel with the odd jazz overtone. Sylvan reins back his theatrical style of vocal delivery here and that underlines the moving, sharply observational lyrical message much more than a heavily mannered delivery ever could.
All in all, it's a delight to note that less turns out to be a helluva lot more on this slow-growing but charming album.
Written by
Brian Tuesday, May 18, 2010
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