coldsun

It sounds like Miles Davis meets The Art of Noise - a combination you never thought would work, but not only have you pulled it off really well, you've created something that so strangely captivating, you start detecting more nuances the more you play it. Hats off to you!

Listening to "Hymns About Her" really proves how screwed up the British pop charts is. Here, a pretty-boy Timberlake-wannabe can score a "fastest ever selling single" entry in the Guinness book with a song so generic and predictable, even a severely lame monkey could do better.

Luckily, there's little chance Simon Cowell has any interest in Steven Dunston. Reason: this is thinking-persons music and not a disposable cheap-thrill. Melodic and amiable enough to make it entertaining, but listening to the words and how Steven phrases them along with the piano is nothing short of breathtaking. When I reviewed "To Get Home Before Night Comes", I noticed a lot of Steely Dan & Stevie Wonder influence - yet here, I still hear those influences to a certain point, yet there is a lot of the more care-free non-political side of Jackson Browne. Me like!

The stripped down sound really suits the songs, making them intimate and warm. Again, the songs are short and numerous with faultless lyrics and melodies - it really makes you want to keep listening.

I don't use this word often, but it's a masterpiece!

You've gotta love good old-fashioned heavy metal. No matter how evil a gloomy, death-growling doom metal band may sound, there's just no substitute for the old masters like Maiden, Priest and Sabbath.

On "Curse of Ice", I do hear a lot of Iron Maiden's technique, Judas Priest's agression and Black Sabbath's imagery in the music and lyrics, especially on the extremely well-written "Valhalla For Reward", with a few of Dream Theater's chops thrown in for good measure. A good set of songs and a performance to match.

Its only down side is the production - it needs a bit more bass on the guitar riffs to fill out the sound and give it that bit of extra menace. The bass guitar needs the same treatment and also bought a bit further forward in the mix - expecially during the guitar solos where the bass is needed more than ever to provide some extra bottom-end. Take Motörhead for example - with only one guitarist, during the guitar breaks, Lemmy's bass is still up front and causing serious speaker damage.

On the whole, it is good to hear some good honest metal and, despite the thin sound, it shows a lot of promise and I do recommend it for anyone who loves the old metal masters.

An easily-listenable set of songs that makes good use of soulful and laid back moods, impeccable wordplay and immaculate production. I don't think there was a bad moment in the entire 25 minutes - certainly made my commute to work this morning that bit better :)

First impressions were also very positive - within the first minute or so of "Danger Girl", I felt compelled to listen on and get drawn further into the music... I've got a collection of over 1,000 albums and, believe me, I've not heard many with that same quality! The songwriting and performance never dipped either, making it coherent but just diverse enough to maintain its grip on the listener (so full marks for the song selection!!)

The production I'd call "efficient": it's perfect for the sound and the music, neither drenched nor spartan, aiding the listener's enjoyment and increasing the chances they'll listen again.

A worthy download for anyone who enjoys the music of Jack Johnson, Sting, Stevie Wonder (his more jazzy stuff, circa 'Talking Book') and the summery vibe of latter-day Steely Dan.