Herein lies the very essence behind the project. The band’s promotional material sent with the album say, ‘we are born and we die. These are the absolute certainties of the human condition. But in between we take a journey, a winding path of experience and knowledge. The road is uneven and we are required to navigate the storms of our own unique stories. How we chart our course through this personal landscape defines the very story of our lives. This is the Aquaplanage’. Epic stuff.
Such a mighty statement would look somewhat limp set aside an album that failed to meet such a huge claim. However, this one undoubtedly does and as a result such grandiose thinking sits comfortably alongside the scale of the music on offer.
“Nature’s Sunday” eases in beautifully before opening out with some excellent guitar playing. The instrumental keyboard led “Solara” twists and turns before leading nicely into the title track itself. The musicianship and writing are both exceptional as they are throughout the album.
“Aqualplanage” continues the instrumental section with gorgeous acoustic guitar and a gentle breeze of musical sounds. It’s a simply exquisite track performed to perfection and eases us onto “Heaven’s Gate” a song rich with thought provoking lyrics that encompass the statement of earlier. A driving “A Song To Stand Above Them All” takes us onwards to “Theme” another delicate instrumental offering. “One Star” completes the journey with a nicely uplifting finale.
There is a danger when making comparisons to the great and good legends mentioned above of failing to convey the genuine creativeness of the band itself.
Aquaplanage explain it better themselves by adding, ‘it is true to the original script of progressive rock and the influences are there to be heard. However, it is much more than a nostalgic reflection of a golden age, and in truth Aquaplanage sets a different tone for the genre’s contemporary currency’.
That tone has most definitely been set. For a look and most importantly a listen please log on to the bands official website.
Article comments
1 - Jon
Jeff, I am the bassplayer for Aquaplanage and I would like to peronally thank you for your kind comments about our album. Our aim is to reach as many people in the world with our music and your review will help boost that aim. For those interested Aqua 2 is being written (we hope this one won't take 7 years).
Jon