"Melodic instrumental progressive rock" is a good description for the music contained here. There is pretty solid range within that heading, though. The mastermind behind this is a gentleman from my part of the world (Northern Illinois). His name is Marc Pelath, and he has assembled a solid group of musicians to help him create this sonic tapestry. Some names among that cast that should be quite familiar to MSJ readers are Gary Husband (keyboards), Simon Phillips (drums) and Markus Reuter (touch guitar and keyboards). Of course, those are just the ones that stand out because we have covered them in the past. Everyone here does a great job. This is an intriguing album that works well.

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.

Synthesizer sounds get us underway here. This grows outward gradually, building up with style and charm. It's definitely melodic prog, but it has some hints of world music in some of the melodies. I really dig the percussive vibes on it. Then again, everything about this is classy.

At more than 14-minutes of music, this is the epic of the set. It starts with piano and grows outward gradually from there with a lot of classical sound along with some cool electric guitar built into it. This builds out, working toward shoegaze territory at times. It's a particularly dynamic number that drops back mid-track and then rebuilds and reimagines itself. It's quite a satisfying musical ride, covering some great territory before it's over.

Horn brings some jazz reference to bear on this piece. The track is another with a definite melodic prog angle at its heart.

At nearly ten-and-a-half minutes, this is another extended piece of music. The track comes in intricate and pretty. It builds out gradually from those origins. This definitely feels like folk prog a lot of the time. It grows out to a more rocking sound from there as it continues to build. The closing section really gets powerful.

This has some classy melodic prog stylings built into it. It features some intriguing bass sounds at times, and really shows off some peaks and valleys. This has a great build, resolve, drop back vibe to it, and it is very effective.

Seeming to come directly out of the previous piece, this comes upward gradually from the ambient elements that start it. This builds out into more cool melodic prog.

As an almost funky jam gets things going, this has the sounds of a ground control during what sounds like a rocket launch. This is probably the most mainstream rock jam of the set. It still has some seriously proggy twists and turns, though. At times, I'm reminded a little of Vangelis, but there is more guitar here than that would suggest. It should be noted that this is a cover of a song by Mike Oldfield, and that is a valid reference point.