ESP Project conceived by Tony Lowe to which various artists of the international Prog scene collaborate on each release, with numerous singles, EPs and 6 albums to their credit. The new “anarchic curves” was released on April 22, 2022 via Sunn Creative and contains 8 medium-long tracks. The opening track “Luminous” begins with an intertwining of keyboards, which immediately leaves room for the vocal, warm and expressive, creating a symphonic and dreamy sound. The first part of the piece flows delicately, and then with a change accelerate in the rhythm with a supporting bass line, ending in a musical crescendo. The longest in duration “Still Lives of John Lennon” exceeds 9 minutes, continuing on the Symphonic sounds of the previous one, with a Neo Prog imprint. After the first sung part, in the central instrumental section the intensity increases and the band offers an interesting guitar and keyboard malgamation, with a good but short solo lead. The vocal that accompanies us returns to the finale where a short guitar solo is inserted, from a track of this duration, I expected more space for the instrumental part. “Cogs” is characterized by a soft sound of ’80s neo Prog inspiration, enveloping and markedly Symphonic with great space given to the vocals and keyboards. A track that flows pleasantly, allowing the sung, always warm and expressive, to interpret the lyrics with passion. From the most modern sounds “The Dead Dark of Lollipops” is characterized by a background of keyboards with dilated and Ambient sounds. An elaborate rhythm session and melodic vocal, with short guitar inserts in the second part, a blend of classic and modern sounds. “Invisible Ricochets” maintains the characteristics of the previous braids, mixing very soft Symphonic Prog and melodic vocals. Good soundscapes and lyrics interpreted with passion, with a brief hint of guitar in the second part, the structure is linear and smooth. An energetic rhythmic session opens “Shoreless” with more Rock sounds, with references to the 80s and intertwining guitar and synth. The bass lines are interesting, the guitar is distorted and harder than the previous ones, but in my humble opinion the track is a little bit repetitive. Returning to the softer sounds “Moon Dust” is characterized by a background of keyboards, the warm and expressive vocals and the rhythm that moves slowly. In my humble opinion it is not very incisive, although the band plays with technique and quality, I can’t get involved in the sound. The album ends with “Entangled Stories” which alternates more rhythmic passages with symphonic openings, enriched by tempo changes and elaborate plots. A good blend of melodic and more incisive parts, in my opinion the best track on the album. A well-played album, which shows the technique both in the instruments and in the vocal parts, but in my opinion they are omnipresent and leave little space for the instrumental parts. From the dreamy and symphonic atmospheres, with an imprinting close to the Neo Prog sounds, with the keyboards protagonists together with the vocal. In my humble opinion it is not very incisive with the tracks that leave little room for the instrumental developments of Prog music.
Tracklist
01. Luminous (6:23)
02. Still Lives of John Lennon (9:11)
03. Cogs (6:47)
04. The Dead Dark of Lollipops (7:00)
05. Invisible Ricochets (6:14)
06. Shoreless (4:43)
07. Moon Dust (5:51)
08. Entangled Stories (9:05)
Lineup
Tony Lowe / Guitars, Keyboards
Peter Coyle / Vocals
Pete Clark / Bass
Dave Etheridge / Drums
With:
Peter Coyle / Keyboards
Cheryl Stringall / Keyboards
