This is an all instrumental set that has a lot of fusion built into it. It should please fans of progressive rock, but those who like acts in the vein of Satriani and Steve Vai will find plenty to enjoy here, too. While there is a definite air that permeates the disc it never feels stale or redundant. This is a great album to put on and just let it play.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2010 Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Time Traveler
The keyboard sounds on this are lush and powerful. It has some hints of Rick Wakeman within. I suppose in a pinch you could label this fusion, though. There is a definite fusion guitar portion to it and it even gets a little crunchy.
Dumpster Diving
There’s more of a driving thrust to this one, but otherwise it doesn’t differ greatly from the previous track. It’s some killer fusion with both guitar and keys leading the way at different points.
A Love Scene A much mellower piece of music, there is a pretty acoustic guitar element to this and lots of lush keyboard sounds. It is basically a rock ballad, but an instrumental.
The Hourglass More dramatic and rather ominous, this is a cool cut that’s different from the rest. The guitar brings in some textures that are similar to the first couple pieces, but this really has a lot more fire in its belly in terms of mystery and majesty. Some synthesized voices are added to the mix later to good effect.
Ownlife This has a definite pure jazz element to it and sort of a groove going. There’s some tasty piano in the mix later and some interesting little left field bits here and there.
Vertigo The closer is more rock oriented. I’d put in somewhere in the vicinity of music like Joe Satriani, but there is an air of that throughout the disc, anyway. This gets powerful and intricate as it carries on later. There’s also an extremely tasty piano solo later that eventually closes it.
