• Band / Artist : Slow Motion Reign – mySpace
• Genre : Progressive / Ambient / Rock
• Sample Track Download : N/A
• Buy CD : Band Store
• Buy Digital Download : iTunes
• Rating : 8.5 out of 10

From the get go, it was obvious that this was going to be an interesting album. The opening track “Twilight Skylight” has the rapid fire style of lyrics, that you either love or hate. Think “End of the World” by REM or “Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. It usually takes me a while to warm to something like this, but this has that “little something extra”. The next track “Isn’t It Time” fuels the already burning fire. It has a great pounding piano, that underlines most of the track and just pushes all the right buttons for me. “Embryonic” brings a certain hint of balance to the album, with a more laid back style. Things then head off in another direction with “Via Satellite”, a particularly interesting track, as it’s almost like some kind of adult nursery rhyme. Not that I’m dissing the track, it’s adds another dimension to the album and makes for great entertainment.

This is one of those albums that takes a couple of plays to really get into, but once you do it kind of unravels very nicely. Suffice to say, this is a great album, with a wonderful diverse selection of tracks. The vocals on the whole album are very distinctive and remind me very much of a modern day Randy Newman. Actually whilst listening to the track “No Way, No How”, I also sense a slight Peter Gabriel influence. The band also brings another recently reviewed band to mind, Public Symphony. OK, that’s enough comparisons for one review.

With 12 tracks on the album, there certainly a lot to keep your aural senses occupied. The album ends with the wonderful track “Space”, a wistful, almost haunting ballad and probably my favorite track on the album. Great stuff.

Conclusion : This has all the earmarks of a classic album. Certainly different, but all the better for it.