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| Echolyn - mei |
 Released: 2002 Label: Velveteen Records Cat. No.: VR2009 Total Time: 49:33 | |
Reviewed by: Igor Italiani, August 2002 It was dangerous, very dangerous ... to do a concept album based only on one long song is like a double-edged sword, as the thing can turn out brilliant (take for example Fates Warning's A Pleasant Shade Of Gray) or inevitably dull. And it obviously requires some guts to make such a bold decision, but among the few prog bands that can take this bull by the horns there are Echolyn, that's for sure! So now here we are with their newly released mei, which follows the welcomed return already made with Cowboy Poems Free two years ago. First of all, the album is delivered in a beautiful mini-LP package, but it's really the music that elevates Echolyn once again above the majority of prog rock acts. In fact, every member of the band delivers an outstanding performance, somewhat close in style to the most-inspired works of Swedish phenomenon Flower Kings, even if I was particularly impressed by the sweet melodies and atmospheres drawn by the lush keyboards of Christopher Buzby and by the band's vocal arrangements, always penned with deft precision. Another big plus of the album is the superb sound quality, directly supervised by guitarist Brett Kull, who is responsible also for the artistic photo shots depicted on the CD's booklet. So in the end mei is really a "must buy" record to add to your CD collection. You know, the only dreadful thing I discovered is that there is no additional subdivision of the one and only track (which lasts 49:33 to be precise), so your CD player could be hard-pressed when you search for a specific passage, but aside from that you have to believe me when I say that this is prog at its finest. [See also Eric's and Steph's reviews - ed.] More about mei: Track Listing: mei (49:33) Musicians: Contact: Website: www.echolyn.com Discography
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