2011 is shaping up as a year that’s extremely conducive to some killer progressive rock. It seems like every time you turn around there’s a smoking hot new prog album coming out. This disc is no exception. Fans of classic prog will love it, and it’s likely to make some “best of 2011” lists. The musical style here fits somewhere between Yes, Genesis, ELP and Starcastle. A lot of the times it seems closer to Starcastle than anything else, but there are sections that call to mind other sounds, too. However you slice it, though, this is a great album that’s sure to please progressive rock purists.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2011  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

A short instrumental, this is a mostly ambient and textural introductory piece. It features some backwards tracked bits and a lot of drama.

Unless it’s Black Sabbath’s “Fairies Wear Boots,” any song takes a big hit in terms of credibility in my book when it has “faerie” or “fairies” in the title. This rises up feeling a little like Genesis. Then it fires out into a killer fast paced prog jam. They change it around and work out different segments in an arrangement that’s very much like a cross between Yes, Genesis, Starcastle and ELP. While the title pushed me back a few steps, the music redeems it. They drop it way down later for a mellower vocal section, but then bring it back out to rocking territory in satisfying ways. They work through a number of changes and this is a great piece of classic progressive rock. This is one of those pieces that’s very much one change after another. It features some smoking hot performances and great classic prog sounds. And yet, they manage it all in a track that’s less than five and a half minutes long.