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Review - Starmaps & Constellations by Surreal

 This is a band I recently discovered.  They are a progressive pop band.  You can definitely hear influences of Dream Theater, but without the metal in your face sound.  You can even hear a bit of Neal Morse, without the 20+ minute songs of complex, ear exhausting instrumental jams. Don't get me wrong.  I love both of those bands, but they can get a bit exhausting to listen to after a while. The production is top notch all throughout, with not a single "weak" spot.  

Surreal is not like that.  I can listen to them all day, every day.  They just released their 2nd album, "Starmaps & Constellations" and it is even better than their first album, "The Rush."

It opens with a really amazing track called "Orion" which really reminds me of a band called Atticus Fault, at least until the near dubstep break just after the middle of the song.  This song is one of my favorites as it is almost an ambient rock hybrid.  I know that makes no sense, but once you hear it, you'll know what I mean.  It's quite beautiful, yet still rocks...and it has a killer keyboard solo, and a really cool electronic break down in it that almost sounds like dubstep territory.  All while keeping an almost ambient vibe throughout.  Trust me.  It's amazing.

The second song, "The Best Days" is s faster, rocker.  Not really progressive so to speak, but the vocals....this guy doesn't just sing.  He can sang. 

"Embers" is next which opens with some serious guitar chugging.  This song definitely has that Neal Morse inspiration I mentioned above, though I doubt Neal has ever written a 4 minute song before.  The way the guitars, drums and keys work together though definitely gives it that sound.  One of the highlights for me for sure.  The vocal production on this song is stellar. 

"Journey To Atlantis", the albums only instrumental song, opens up with some deep keyboard bass, a nice pad, strings and beautiful piano, then breaks into a nice rock groove with a subtle keyboard lead. This song is more along the Dream Theater sound I mentioned above.  If I didn't know any better, I would totally think Jordan Rudess was on keys on this song.  This is definitely the most progressive song on the album.  Dream Theater fans will absolutely love this song. 

"Resurgence" comes next and has a unique twist on the vocals for the opening, using distortion and a lower register.  The keyboard sequencing on the bass line of this song is brutal which is almost made danceable by the drum beat.  This is probably the most intense song on the album, especially once the keyboard solo screams it way into your speakers, shortly followed the breakdown which is nothing but huge keyboards and vocals saturated in reverb (Not over saturated...it sounds amazing), and then ending on the heavy side again.

"Chasing Wind" has a unique sound that almost sounds folk, and maybe a bit jarring after the brutal "Resurgence", however,  this is a progressive pop album, so it quickly picks up pace to a nice pop rock song.  Towards the end, you'll hear some gang vocals.  He had a bunch of people contribute to that rather than trying to do them all himself.  Yep, your's truly and his wife are a part of that.  Did I mention that I'm a huge fan? 

"Firefly Cloud Pt. II" starts off very ethereal, into a nice rock groove for the introduction, until the vocals kick in with an ethereal keyboard pad again, reminiscent of "Orion".  While not really having that ambient / hybrid sound much past the first verse, this song still has a very nice flow to it.  This is the longest song on the album, clocking it at exactly 8 minutes, but it doesn't seem that long because the song has such a nice flow to it.  The guitar work on this song is simply beautiful as are the vocals (as always). 

"Northern Cross" closes the album out with the more ambient sounds again, with vocals that seemingly soar through the keyboards, which are among my favorite sounds on this entire album.  This song is chilling and my guess is that this song is rather personal for the vocalist as you can really hear the emotion in his voice.  

Whether you like prog rock, pop rock, or just some great sounding music, you will find something on this album you will love.  My guess is, you will find a lot of something on this album you will love.  It is my favorite album of the year, so far.  It's that good.

10/10


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