Transatlantic, Kaleidoscope

If you are in the spacey prog-psych rock zone today or feel the need for something new in that realm though it may not be your current steady fare, Transatlantic may be just the thing--specifically the album Kaleidoscope (Radiant 15278-2).

It combines some of the hardness of progmetal with the intricate compositional-arranging and instrumental acuity of the classic middle-period Floyd, Yes, Crimson, Genesis and the like.

Now to do that without sounding like a clone of those bands isn't easy but Transatlantic pulls it off. The quartet gets a very integrated sound out of the lineup--Roine Stolt on guitars and vocals, Pete Trewavas on bass and vocals, Neal Morse on keys and vocals, and Mike Portnoy on drums and vocals.

This is their fourth studio album; they have been at it off and on since 2000, and their group dynamic by now is palpable. You can feel it.

So they run through some very nice originals that have that long-form medley-thematic extendedness that lets you float along indefinitely.

It's one of those albums that convinces you that art-psych-prog rock is far from dead. And that should tell you something of the quality here. Nice!