Search - Little Atlas :: Wanderlust

Outstandingly consistent prog effort

wadrad | Land of Bitburger, Bratwurst, und Lederhosen | 10/13/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Being a decently large fan of 70's prog, I've been researching and diving back into newer prog I could find in the last 5-6 years. Of the more recent stuff, I discovered Spock's Beard, the Flower Kings, the Tangent, and Transatlantic, and I even discovered some real 70s prog I'd never heard until recently. In that same spirit of new-prog-discovery I decided to give Little Atlas a try.



I first heard this band on Garageband, and was impressed enough to hunt down the CD through some small independent CD distributing site. Didn't realize I could have just one-clicked it on Amazon. Have to admit, of all the prog CDs from the last decade, this CD is the most consistent and likeable of the bunch that I bought. I do have a few favorite Spock's Beard's or Flower Kings tunes that I like more than any single song on this disc, but there are always a few tunes on all their CDs that get "next" buttoned when they start to play. Not the case with Wonderlust. Do they wear their obvious prog influences on their sleeves? Heck yeah, including even their Spock's Beard influence. But, if you're a sympho-prog fan that'll be a plus more than a minus.



There are two things I really like about the CD. One is the guitar work. The guitarist, Roy Strattman, is an energetic, but quite tasteful player. Very good at fills and flourishes that really complement the music. Always just the right amount of fretwork to help complete what the song needs. The second is the overall live feel to the disc. Though it's a studio production, the overall vibe is of a band actually playing together, unlike certain other prog projects as of late (Tangent's "A Place in the Queue" comes to mind...like everyone just emailed in their parts to slap it together with a Mac and some recording software). Steve Katsikas (vox and keys) seems to write most the music, and he does a great job of keeping things interesting but still fairly melodic. He's a decent vocalist (for me, much better than Neil Morse of Spock's Beard), and though he's no Rick Wakeman, he's proficient enough to add keyboard work that also fits well with the music. As an odd note, I'm not sure why a guy with a Greek name from Florida (as the web site says) sounds like he's british when he sings, but, plenty of british guys have sounded like they were born with American southern soul, so I guess it's not too weird. I do think the lyrics are as good or better than the Flower Kings or SB, and the vox are definitely better than both.



All in all, there's just great balance between the players in this band. Though the guitar might be the stand-out instrument in this, ALL the parts very much complement each other, making it really seem like a band effort and recording. The playing is tight, but not mechanically so, and I really like that. That quality reminds me of old Yes, where the playing was good, but it still seemed real (as opposed to "overdubbed with retakes to perfection").



In summary, there is some great prog on here. The Rush, Spock's Beard, and 70's prog influences definitely come through, but they're not so obvious that they overwhelm the music. The tinge of South American influence with the bass and drums is also a nice touch. If you like 70's prog as well as the more popular stuff from the last decade, I think you'll like this too. Worth the purchase in my book..."