Age of Aquarius: Dawn of the Age of Aquarius

Now, I am not an expert on astrology but supposedly the Age of Aquarius is the age of love, light and humanity and according to some was supposed to occur at the beginning of the 20th century. I don't know about you but I think we as a species have a long way to go before said enlightenment is reached. Age of Aquarius (the band) consists of two members; Dutch multi-instrumentalist Peter Cox and British born singer Zoe Ehinger.

For me the strong point of the album is definitely the musicianship of Peter Cox. He is an excellent musician. Unfortunately, my praise of Zoe Ehinger is not near as high. It is not as though she has a horrible voice, far from it but there is a lack of power at times and occasionally she sounds a little flat like in the balladic "Uranian Utopia" which is a shame as the slow bending guitar and piano are actually quite nice. Ehinger fares better in the melancholic "The Water Bearer", lush with keyboards and strings and defined by pretty piano and lead vocals. In the piano/acoustic guitar led ballad "Mercury Rising" Ehinger again comes across as a little flat in her delivery. Again, not unlistenable but there is a lack of 'crispness' here for want of a better word. It is still a nice song though. The sweeping guitar and piano work in "The Seventh Hymn" suffers from the same fate.

The disc does include three instrumentals with each showcasing the talent Cox possesses both as a musician and as a highly skilled melodicist.

So, Dawn of the Age of Aquarius, for me, is a bit of a misstep. On the one hand I quite like the music (melancholic tinged rock), on the other hand the vocals not near as much. Your take may differ so please listen for yourself.

Track Listing:
1. Under One Big Sky (4:34)
2. The Water Bearer (7:43)
3. Air Element Three (Instrumental) (3:35)
4. Uranian Utopia (6:14)
5. Ray Five (Instrumental) (3:10)
6. Mercury Rising (4:20)
7. The Seventh Hymn (6:15)
8. Darling Jupiter (4:18)
9. Amethyst Tranquility (Instrumental) (3:27)
10. Saturnian Chaos (7:35)

Added: December 5th 2017
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band's Official Site
Hits: 2569
Language: english

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