On June 17 of 2024, a new prog band has emerged from Hungary, a scene that has kept a long history of progressive adventures with well known names like After Crying, Solaris, Android, Yesterdays, or Ghost Toast as well infusing a splendid new debutante like last year’s spectacular Deposed King. If this a harbinger of things to come, the prog community is in very good hands indeed, as this is a stirring debut by all accounts, surely making waves globally! Fans of female vocal-led bands such as Karnataka, Mostly Autumn, Panic Room, Magenta, Three Colours Dark etc..will find their contentment here.
I just admire the audacity of kicking off your first tune with an epic 13-minute piece that sets immediately the tone and the mood of a style, hopefully establishing succinctly one’s letters of “noblesse”! “Tomorrow” ingeniously introduces all the instrumental actors, very much in the traditional powerful guitar, sleek keyboard, sizzling bass and solid drum mold, while inserting the sultry voice of Zsuzsa Garda. It is a seamless fit, to say the least. First off, guitarist David Fecske displays a wide variety of competences, energetically athletic on the lead electric when required, yet fully able to adorn delicate phrasings and subtle detail at a moments notice. Same can be said for keyboardist Gergo Szabo, who dazzles on a variety of ivories, namely frilly and ornate piano dispositions as well as stunning synthesizer forays where needed. The extended introduction chooses to travel far and wide, from morning birds chirping in atmospheric divination, to sweeping Hackett-like sustained notes painting quite the symphonic canvas, escalating into unexpected valleys, a perfect setting for a solid rock groove to really gets the juices flowing. When the acoustic guitar flicker presents Zsuzsa ‘s vocal spotlight, with twinkling synth loops in the background and an upfront bass on the rampage, the pleasure nodes start effervescing in excitement. Eventually, they reach a melodic spine, crowned by an incredible vocal rip that will raise many an eyebrow, but also unafraid of interposing variations and transitions in order to keep the thrill alive and well. Fecske goes on a phosphorescent guitar onslaught that urges, pleads, cries and bellows with technical and emotional virtuosity. One word: impressive!
A bit of respite with the sullener “Falling” , a brooding lament with opaque unsteadiness that is interspersed with a couple of plunges into tectonic vocal acrobatics that defy gravity, a sense of funeral or cemetery procession that will blow your earphones right off! Urgency, despair, pain and immense sorrow are the order of the day on this incendiary track! The piano helps the fade into a final goodbye.
Another longer track, “Mirror” maintains the cinematographic scope, a reflective melodic luminescence carrying the flawless and accent less vocals and supplying the framework for the four instrumentalists to exhibit their skills, the notable rhythm section in particular unafraid to keep it choppy yet muscular, creating an inspiring contrast with the more tuneful soloists who toss in all kinds of varied tones into their display. This juxtaposition of simple and complex is wholly intriguing and expertly handled throughout, accelerating on a dime and applying brakes every so gently into a pensive tempo.
Emitting an overt and unashamed Yes feel, what with the straightforward Peter Gosztola bass romp on
“Earth and Sky” , a sense of heavenly orchestral embrace, some Steve Howe acoustic expressions, and Garda soaring like that Anderson fella, this piece certainly evokes more spirituality, liberation and respect for the true powers of the universe. The fluid fretwork is revelatory of its influences, with a brief slide rant acting as a wink, the Wakemanesque piano doing a majestic exhortation, inserting vocal harmonies just like Relayer lads did, once long ago. One word: Extraordinary!
There is an undeniable hint of Magyar traditional music on “Wake Up” , the string orchestrations in particular rekindling classical and folk sonorities, blended into an otherwise more conventional prog arrangement. I also got the Hungarian version of this album which I used to validate my expressed opinion, mainly because I do enjoy facts. For those of you wondering, Hungarian is actually not remotely harsh by any standards, very mellifluous and devoid of guttural tendencies. Anyway, “Wake Up” is a lovely and original song indeed.
The finale is simplicity personified, a brief little love ballad where the focus is clearly on the lyrical content, a definite expression of passion with a gloriously effusive melody and all the appropriate trimmings, not even caring for any labelling including progressive, a seductive bass caress as well as a piano cuddle to close out the lights.
A thrilling, expertly produced, lovingly adorned with expressive artwork debut album from a band we pray to hear more from very soon.
4.5 vanishing futures
