RED SAND - MUSIC FOR SHARKS - 2009

Quebec based neo progsters Red Sand are probably the best Fish-era Marillion imitators. Their debut album, Mirror Of Insanity, is definitly one of those records you´ll think it is the long lost 80´s Marillion LP. Well, Marillion itself was being labeled for years as a Genesis clone, so it is no big deal, as long as the music was good. And Red Sand proved to be very good. Far from just copycats those guys did capture the true spirit of that band and add a little something extra. But it seemed that the band was kind of annoyd with those comparisons. So much that their third album, Human Trafficking, saw the band steering away from the style that made them famous. But that move was not a successful one.

So two years after that CD they realease a new one. Music For Sharks is a kind of ´back to roots´? Well, sort of, but not really. Yes, the band is sounding a lot like early Marillion, and still they are different, adding new elements to their music (Pink Floyd and The Beatles are two obvious influences), making the new release a pleasant surprise. Caron is still delivering those great, Rothery/Gilmour like, guitar solos. The keyboards are a bit more subtle, but simply fantastic and dreamy. Vocalist Mathieu Lessand is back and does a fine job (in the true Fish fashion, but he does have his own way of delivering the message). Mathieu Gosselin is simply a wonderful, jazz influenced, bass player and Perry Angelillo also plays great drums.

This is a concept album about the music industry (something Fish might approve!). The CD is very well crafted, with no fillers anywhere. It´s hard to point out a highlight since the album flows very evenly from start to finish, but I believe the 16 minute epic Shark Man, with its many shifts and moods, will appeal to most progsters. Production is also top notch.

Conclusion: maybe Red Sand´s best album to date. They seem to have finally found a good mixture between a sound of their own and their terrific Marillion impersonation. I really hope they keep developing this way. Music For Sharks is a must have to any neo prog lover, but not only. 4,5 stars.
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