Waterclime is the brainchild of Vintersorg mainman, Mr V and 'Imaginative' is his 2nd album, the follow-up to 'The Astral Factor'.  Mr V plays all the instruments on this album as well as providing vocals and producing, mixing and mastering the whole project.  This album oozes 70’s prog, evoking memories of classic Yes and a bit of Jethro Tull thrown in for good measure. 

The basis of the album lies in symphonic and progressive rock enhanced by jazz and folk overtones.  Featuring multi-layered vocals and a heavy emphasis on keyboards, each song has a style of it’s own and each instrument given space to breathe. Lyrically, the album deals with the translation of dreams and visions, emphasizing a romantic touch, each song diverse and filled with melodies. 

I found this album hard going but my ears kept picking out bits of Rush, Tull, Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, ELP, Greenslade, the list is endless.  The album feels very retro with the arrangements echoing the style of early 70’s prog albums.  Mr V’s vocal phrasing can be compared to Geddy Lee without going into the stratosphere that he did on those early Rush albums. 

Production-wise it isn’t the best I’ve come across and there seems to have been a tendency to throw in as many instruments into each song as possible.  The album is the vision of one man who has taken on all aspects in the making of this whole album from muscian and producer to the final mix.  It sounds like an album trying to stretch it’s own boundaries but overpowering the space it is trying to break across.

* Review by Brassy.