Dutch born, New Jersey based musician Anton Roolaart has been a busy man because not only is he the founder and head honcho of one of the premier online progressive rock radio sites (www.ProgRockRadio.com), he's also found time to write and record his debut CD entitled Dreamer, released on Umbrello Records. Roolaart not surprisingly has always been a fan of progressive rock and when he started his online radio station he soon found himself reconnecting with the genre, which in turn indirectly affected his songwriting. Dreamer doesn't offer comparisons to any one band per se; rather it serves as a celebration of the genre as a whole, through its complex, multi faceted compositions. Roolaart surrounded himself with a magnificent supporting cast of musicians and they all do a wonderful job on his arrangements here. The contributions of Vincent Puryear (bass), drummers Rich Berends, Charles Descarfino and keyboardist Rave Tesar (Annie Haslam) cannot be overlooked as they play a big part in helping mold the overall sound on Dreamer. Whether Anton himself is letting rip with fiery Hackett inspired runs on "Near or Far" or dreamingly strumming his acoustic underneath the majestic sounds of Tesar's synth flourishes on the symphonic "On to the afterglow", it all works perfectly. The opening moments of the title tack are awash in Floyd like atmospherics as he let's a superb, melodic Gilmour-esque solo pour forth to set the whole tone for the song, before even singing a word. This track along with "Color of your world", "Mid Summer's Day" and "On to the afterglow" are perfect examples of how Roolaart is able to flawlessly blend the light and shade element so effortlessly within his music, because at times it almost feels like the listener is hearing a song within a song.
Dreamer succeeds on so many levels, primarily by not only acknowledging the progressive greats of the past, yet by also remaining firmly entrenched in the sounds of today and more importantly with an eye towards the future as well. If you are a fan of progressive music in any shape or form, then I highly recommend you check out this very impressive debut.
Track Listing
1) Near or Far
2) On to the afterglow
3) Dreamer
4) Scary Monsters
5) Color of your world
6) Mid Summer's Day
7) Manon
8) The Spider
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