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Aethellis

A Home In Your Thoughts

Review by Gary Hill

I have followed Aethellis for a very long time. Their brand of progressive rock features plenty of links to the classic era of the genre, but it also gets into fresh territory. This new album is fairly short, but it's got some great music within its playing time. It's a fine addition to the group's catalog.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Track by Track Review
A Home In Your Thoughts / Second Home In Your Thoughts
This comes in with a stripped back arrangement based around vocals and piano. That holds it for a time, but it eventually fills out a little, bringing both proggy and some jazzy yacht rock like vibes with it. At more than 15 minutes long, this is the epic of the disc, by a long shot. The melodic movement that takes over after the piano and vocal section holds it for a quite a while, evolving somewhat, but staying reasonably the same. It shifts to an instrumental approach around the six-minute mark with more melodic prog in the driver's seat. Then it moves out to a fast-paced jam that calls to mind both ELP and Yes to my ears. The track continues to evolve sans vocals, working through some different movements. There are more classic prog reference points on hand including Genesis. Movements get revisited as this continues to grow. I really love the tastefully odd section around the ten-minute mark. The song continues purely instrumental until the end, working through varying things.
Believe In Somebody

Less than five minutes long, this is more hard rocking. It's somewhat mainstream and a little playful. There are some decidedly Yes-like sections later in the track, particularly due to the keyboard presence. I like the multi-layered vocal arrangement a lot, too.

Janice

At more than eight minutes of music, this lands between the other two songs in terms of length. This comes in with a bouncy groove that has prog, mainstream rock and jazz in the mix. The track grows out from there in style. This is quirky and classy. It might be my favorite track on the album.

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