The Music That Died Alone

For this project, members of the Flower Kings (guitarist Roine Stolt, bassist Jonas Reingold, and drummer Zoltan Csorsz) and one ex-member of Van der Graaf Generator (sax player David Jackson) team with the core of Parallel or 90 Degrees (singer/keyboardist Andy Tillison, guitarist Guy Manning, and keyboardist Sam Baine), hence the name of the group. Parallel, tangent — take a few seconds to figure it out. Stolt and Tillison share an undisputable love for old-school symphonic prog rock and epic songs. They indulge in both here. "In Darkest Dreams" is the main course, an eight-part, 20-minute suite that adds some of the Flower Kings' bright colors to Po90s usually darker (VDGG-esque) delivery. Stolt and Tillison trade vocals; the remainder of the album features only Tillison as lead singer. "The Canterbury Sequence" is an ode to the music of Caravan and Hatfield and the North, well-intentioned and pleasurable. The finale takes its distances from the Canterbury scene and achieves a more personal statement. "Up-hill from Here," an upbeat, almost shockingly joyous number, lets the two guitarists battle it out for the noisiest solo. The title track comes back to Po90s brand of beat-heavy mid-tempo writing, a melody that acknowledges Peter Hammill's influence. The Flower Kings' rhythm section once again manages to give the music a more flexible feel, while Stolt's input as a composer brings out the sun in the second half. The Music That Died Alone remains mostly Tillison's project, stylistically speaking at least, but the music is more readily appealing than the claustrophobic worlds of Parallel or 90 Degrees. ~ François Couture, Rovi