Short Reviews [Aethellis - 2003 - "Aethellis"]

Before making a step on the path of solo activity, Ellswarth Hall was the member of Logos Affinity. The 47-minute "Aethellis" contains five songs and one instrumental composition, all of which Hall composed and performed alone. With the exception of the 12-minute closing song, Final Affinity, all of the other tracks are from 6 to 8 minutes in duration. The music on the first four songs here represents keyboard-based Neo Progressive, instantly accessible. With the exception of Saint Augustus (2), which is a banal pop-art song much in the vein of those by ELP in the 1990s, all of them feature some bright solos and passages of synthesizer and piano. Both of the last tracks on the album, Djibouti and Final Affinity, the first of which is an instrumental piece, are lushly orchestrated, fairly diverse as well as tasteful pieces of classic aymphonic Art-Rock. These two are the best tracks here, although Final Affinity features a few themes and solos resembling those on Rick Wakeman's "The Myths & Legends Of King Arthur & The Knights of the Round Table". Overall, Aethellis is by no means an extraordinary event on today's progressive scene.

Vitaly Menshikov: March 22, 2003