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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Sky Orchid Oculus Review by Gary Hill If you like alternative rock based styled sounds, there is plenty to like about this. It's a mainstream rock set with a good range of texture. It never fails to entertain and there are some peaks for certain. I have to say that there seems to have been some trouble with the sequence and titles of a couple of the review copy songs I had. I think I've got it all sorted out based on figuring out that the titles to two songs were wrong and the sequence (according to the band's website) was also incorrect. It's still possible that there is a problem or two here, but I think I got it right. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2018 Volume 1 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review

The River This comes in rather ambient and sort of de-tuned. It works out to sort of an intriguing power ballad approach from there. By around the minute and a half mark it's grown into much more of a rocker. This actually works out toward prog rock near the end.

Sneakers An AOR sort of alternative rocker, this is classy stuff. There are some musical layers that lean toward progressive rock. I like the rather involved vocal arrangement.

In The Fire (Pt. 1) This melodic rocker has a nice balance between more rocking and mellower stuff.

I'll Stop The World (Pt. 2) An alternative rocker, this is catchy and meaty.

Wildfire More of an alternative rock ballad, this is solid stuff. It brings some variety, but isn't one of my favorites on the set. That said, it works out to a hard rocking section later that's very classy.

Lex This number has a nice balance between the mellower and more rocking stuff. It's a mainstream alternative rock cut that works well.

Breathe Easy A big change, this has a sort of funky kind of vibe to it. It has a clean guitar sound and makes me think of Red Hot Chili Peppers for some reason. The jam at the end is tastefully noisy and chaotic.

Fortify Piano chords start this cut. The track works out into sort of ballad approach. This is slow moving, but also very powerful. In fact, I'd consider the best cut of the whole disc. I really like this one a lot.

Take It All With an echoey kind of vibe, this has a full on reggae element at play. That's particularly true at the start. As the piece works out from there other things become more prominent. Even then, though, there are some reggae things going on in the background.

Yesterday A slower cut, this has a cool rocking groove to it. It's very classic and timeless in nature. It gets more hard rocking and faster as it approaches the end.

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