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It's quite surprising to see pure Progressive Rock
on the SPV family of labels since that popular entity typically
advocates material from the harsher realm of metal, or so
it seems of late.***
Exclusionary riders aside, Unitopia is a great mix
of soft and hard with various techniques morphing under
their undulating pressure. While the music starts in pedestrian
fashion, it dramatically improves over a short period of
time. This increase in entertainment value is mostly due
to a pace that exponentially quickens. Once they find their
stride, they traverse both exhilarating cliffs and placid
pastures on an epic journey of dissimilar landscapes; some
recognizable and some terrifically unfamiliar.***
These compositions feature rock structures well placed
within orchestral arrangements. To do so, they borrow from
many influential artists and craftily mix them together.
The resulting milieu is Frameshift meets Yes meets Jethro
Tull meets Hourglass meets Puppet Show. When it's strictly
brass and piano, it tends to borrow from Neal Morse's universe
as well.***
One complaint: At times the soil's a little stiff, because
they try too hard to harvest others' seed. For instance,
"Here I Am" is blatantly Marillion. Rather than place so
much focus elsewhere, it would pay for them to loosen loam
by eradicating widespread rooted weeds. Then they would
stand a chance of getting their own personal groove on.
A reduction in derivation would also cause fewer distractions
from déjà vu.***
On the bright side, Ed Unitsky has flamboyantly dyed
the cover. Accordingly, he can add this CGI to a growing
list of accomplishments. For the record, his registry already
includes notorious acts such as Manning, Starcastle, and
The Tangent. I love those bands and it seems Unitsky has
the same tastes as me, or else he's just good at peddling
his skills among my pet band brethren. Even if Unitopia
were duped into using his colorful services, they are on
the receiving end of a desirable bargain -- since the imagery
on the mural looks absolutely grand.***
As if to play a round of name that tune, the material
is eerily similar to D'Arcana's Premonitions. Ironically,
Unitsky doodled on that, too.***
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