More info: www.unicornrecords.com
Verdict: Successful return (75%)
Despite the fact that this is only their second album, Kaos Moon have a long history. The band was started by Bernard Ouellette & Michel Caron as Moon Project, before changing it's name to Kaos Moon way back in 1985 with addition of more band members. The band went their separate ways in 1987 as the result of tensions among the musicians and their manager. In 1993 the band was reformed with some new members and the first album, "After The Storm", was released. As a result of a meeting with Michel Street-Pere of Unicorn Record in 2002, the band (now consisting of bassist Norman Lachapelle, guitarists Sylvain Provost & Alain Bertrand and old Kaos Moon members Alain Pothier & Benolt Chaput. With Magella Cormier and Bernard Ouellette on drums, with Bernard also handling vocals) was reformed to record this 2004 release.
Opening track, "Electric Light Avenue", initially has a slightly Eastern feel to it before maturing to the an more typical Kaos Moon sound. The Kaos Moon sound being a mixture of The Enid, Marillion, Pink Floyd, Yes, Saga and Kansas. By the time I've come up with that description, track 3 (Crawl) arrives with funky baseline and general demeanour more in tune with Spock's Beard or Transatlantic. "The Waves" & "The Wall of Silence" both mix Marillion and Kansas. By the time "SOAB" arrives I'm in the mood for hitting the next button as it doesn't really add anything new or interesting to the listening experience. George W kicks off "Presidency". Mmmmm......maybe we hear enough of him elsewhere without having him invade my album collection! In common with many other tracks the keyboards have a sound reminiscent of "The Enid". The title track, which seems to have a lighter atmosphere that the rest of the album, finishes the album off with a catchy prog song!
The good overall sound and production result in an enjoyable listening experience.
