Just a year ago, 'Lee Abraham' offered us 'Comatose' which had been a very good surprise 2019 for any amateur of progressive rock and 2020 therefore sees the release of his 9th studio recording 'Harmony/Synchronicity' which was composed during the confinement period and which deals, among other things, with the fearful reaction of the media and public opinion to the pandemic. And despite this particular period, with the help of his drummer friend 'Gerald Mulligan', he also asked 6 vocalists from the progressive sphere to pose their voices on 6 of the 7 tracks of this opus, the 7th being an instrumental track. So, we find artists who had already accompanied him on previous albums like 'Simon Godfrey' and 'Mark Spencer' but also 'Marc Atkinson' from the 'Riversea' group and 'Moon Hallo', 'Stuart Nicholson' from the 'Galahad' and 'Peter Jones' from the group 'Tiger Moth Tales' who also participated in the project 'Barock Project'.
'The World is Falling Down' starts the album in a muscular way with a hard-rock atmosphere close to 'Huriah Heep' and with a melodic chorus at the opposite of the energy of the title, then 'Stay' which follows, shows another face, much calmer in a pop style. With 'Hearing The Call', we are fully in progressive rock close to formations like 'Arena' or 'Marillion' or 'Knight Area' with very accessible melodic lines and an instrumental section worthy of the name in the middle of the title punctuated by a remarkable guitar solo, the final being very beautiful, then, 'Misguided Pt 2' whose first part was part of the album 'Distant Days' from 2018, is an instrumental cut in three parts, first of all a muscular section with incisive riffs then a second in an aerial 'Floydian' style and which ends as it began. The album continues with 'Never Say Never' with the soft voice of 'Marc Atkinson' accompanying beautiful melodic lines in a light atmosphere and a fairly classic construction moving away from the progressive, then, the ballad 'Rise Again' reminds me of the ambiance of 'Dream On' by 'Aerosmith' with a heady melody and again the vocals of 'Marc Atkinson' which wonderfully accompanying this type of composition, the album ending with the eponymous track 'Harmony / Synchronicity' in a classic melodic rock style embellished with backing vocals and a beautiful guitar solo.
In summary, the Englishman 'Lee Abraham' offers us a varied album mixing different styles and atmospheres while remaining very pleasant to listen to from beginning to end thanks in particular to many guest singers but also thanks to beautiful melodic lines immediately accessible and 'Harmony / Synchronicity' is recommended for an audience loving diversity in rock... | |
