So, what do we get on this disc? Nine tracks, eight of which bear the vocals of Mike Semesky, all of them energetic, progressive songs with a bit of a pop edge. Not that this detracts from the appeal of the songs - they're still crunchy, technical tunes which get your head bobbing. Surprisingly, most of them seem to be in a straight 4/4, but that's by the by.
We launch straight into 'Ephemeral', which has one of the catchiest guitar hooks I've heard in years. Semesky's voice seems comfortable in the mid range and doesn't stray far from it, but then it never really needs to. The drums are pretty eye watering as well. I've seen Anup Sastry play these tracks live, but I'm still trying to ponder how many extra limbs I'd need to be able to play the tunes, as well as how to actually play them in the first place.
We get some jazz-fusion on 'Moment Marauder', which also highlights that the band aren't afraid to dabble in other genres if the song needs it. We even get a nice little instrumental in 'Breathe' that serves as a nice change of pace.
Do we consider this a debut? Perhaps. The two releases before were E.Ps with four tracks only. So as first albums go, this is a very strong entry and one likely to receive frequent time on my MP3 player.
9/10
