RED SAND - HUMAN TRAFFICKING - 2007

This is a very promising and cleans album, out of the simple fact that it's heavily worked upon and that it resembles no sort of ambiguity at all. It can be the kind of perfect powerful contrast, one not saying at all that the entire alternative, modern indie improvisation or trippy new-wave music hasn't got smashing effects can't consist a highly launching progressive movement itself, but definitely puts this band, with this new album, in a good quality. And a long practiced one, after all. Red Sand already made a very good album with the previous 2004 forceful release, this is only a bit behind it - as in keeping hopes of a clear expression, but sensibly choosing a more emotive or cold expressions.

I much believe the entire structure, cause and gift of this album is between finding a space for both art, modern forgetful easy motives and progressive hidden qualities - but mostly the fact that this is an album of an impeccable chosen theme, of a clear power and dosage, plus of a continuous genuine composition and ornamentation - while the contrast, generally, evokes the pure experimentation or the thuggish search for some concrete music - is what makes this album really optimistic. Not just for neo-prog fans (who'll feel between IQ's recent years of deep-surrounding music and Pallas's unnatural signs of simple art), but for this year's entire impression of a brave musical distinction.

Seen integrally, Human Trafficking is an album in a conjured artistic illusion, but an emotive sensibility towards what played, a truly compelling guitar scrape and, generally, an anxiety of music, melody and style marvels. Taken each piece into its own message, all four have nice things in common and share a pleasant progressive quality. With only Human Trafficking being the best piece, mostly surrounding and clear neo-progressive and rock alternative, with dynamic shocks or melody transformations, but mostly with several minutes of lovely guitar improvisation, between Gilmour's eccentric heat-strings and Rothery's passionate melody lines. Lost fuses a moment of music relaxation and deep harmony, with beats and wide visions, with a piano strong play, then finally with an imperative asthmatic guitar improvisation. Short, but deep and acute. Regrets, the second epic of the album, promises at least as much as the first one, if not actually stepping forward in the tight musical dream and suffering. The start is slow, with a subtlety that could be better; but the relinquish begins to loose enough logic, as to burst into art and panic soon after. At first under a spell of heavy riffs and mumbling, the main themes is actually made of a generous instrumental power (the guitars remain beyond a simple breath, the keyboards rumor a sensibility too) and a neo-shining dramatic lyrical impressions. This is between the promising symphonic alternative arrangement and the forgotten art modern tows of clear or improvised music. The piece could disappoint just a bit under the first one, since it's not various, nor that fresh, but only finds a perfect "tear-drop" emotion in a coup of refined guitar prog, convincing (not only once) instrumental attraction, and in rest a catchy neo-prog atmosphere, with a signs of life atmosphere, close to something IQ lately done. Loving Child is, just like Lost, a piece of quiet desperation, in the sense that the atmosphere relaxes everything, but the lyrics aren't quiet at all; occasionally, the spruce of the guitar does more than picks, so that the final piece has accents. Guitar mellow Floyd meets acoustic surround and vocal-soda Marillion.

A good and recommended album for fans and for the successful, beautiful music of this year's strong, healthy imagination. Three point five stars.
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