I’ve always loved Erik Norlander’s music. His sonic style lands in modern prog territory in some ways, but more than anything it’s rooted in the classic progressive rock of the 1970s. This album is a particularly strong helping of that. Other than one song (the title track featuring his wife Lana Lane), this is an instrumental album. It has quite a range of sounds and is a particularly well constructed release. If you’ve ever enjoyed Norlander’s music, you’ll want to get this as soon as you can. If you haven’t heard him, this is a great introduction.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.

The sounds of the sea open this. Mellower, rather spacey music rises up from there. Eventually it builds out to some really rocking prog with a majestic and powerful tone. That takes it for a time before it drops to a keyboard heavy segment. The cut takes on an almost neo-classical element as the guitar returns to the forefront. This continues to shift and evolve. This instrumental is quite a classy one. At almost eight minutes in length, it’s the second shortest piece here. There are parts of this that almost convey a space music take on fusion. There is a bit of a Latin vibe to some of the percussion, too.

Keyboards bring this one in from the last cut. This builds out into another smoking hot prog jam. This one has a bit more of a rocking groove. In some ways it reminds me of Yes. In other ways it calls to mind ELP. Still, there are some Deep Purple meets Kansas moments, too. All in all, though, it’s original, unique and a real killer instrumental. If anything, I like this one better than the opener. It’s a strong tune for sure.