To be honest had I never heard of the USA act Art In America. A band which was founded in 1980 by siblings Chris Flynn, Dan Flynn, and Shishonee Flynn. While the brothers filled typical rock band roles as singing guitarist and drummer, respectively, Shishonee was responsible for the group's unique sound: she played the harp. To be precise their debut Art In America (1983) was the first rock album on a major label to feature the instrument. For their debut, they collaborated with Steve Morse and the album was produced by Eddy Offord, who was worked with Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. In 2018 Cloudborn was released. Which had contributions of producer David Hentschel (keyboards) and Tony Levin (bass). In 2025 the group, with full participation of all original members, released an album of new songs called Rise produced by band member James T Kuha. Rise follows years of anticipation and fan demand for more music from a band that broke new ground in the American progressive rock scene with their debut and then simply vanished. The album is based on demos that were recorded in the same year as their debut album and digitized in 2017. "It was a short session," recalls frontman Chris Flynn. "We recorded 15 songs in one day. The following Sunday, we recorded another track, and the next day we did a rough mix." They reused most of the original tracks for Rise, as bassist Jim Kuha reveals. "Seventy to eighty percent are from the original tapes. We mostly just added a few guitar and vocal tracks. One exception is Show Me, which took a completely different direction during the editing process." Kuha describes the years-long project to produce the album as "a passion project that stands on its own and is not just an add-on to the first album." The Line-up of musicians for this album includes Chris Flynn (guitar, lead vocals), Dan Flynn (drums & percussion), Jim Kuha (bass, bass pedals, 6- & 12-string guitars, keyboards, percussion, vocals) and Shishonee Flynn (concert harp, koto, tambura). The guest musicians on the album are Garry Galloway (organ, Mellotron, Moog synth) and Karyn Ormiston (organ, OB-X synth. The music on Rise is a blend of progressive rock, melodic rock, and pop elements. Rise moves from delicate, progressive soundscapes to arena-rock sounds. With intricate arrangements, catchy hooks, and the use of the concert harp as a key instrument. The album kicks off with the first single taken from the album. Running By is a strong up tempo piece with musical references to Yes and Asia. Strong vocal, keyboard and bass parts dominate the song overall. Follow up Don't Look Down continues where the former track lefts of. So again rather up tempo. Again strong vocal and bass parts. Catchy vocal lines are included. Again Yes and Asia comes to mind. The excellent guitar solo which you can enjoy makes the compositions a bit more heavy sounding. Next up is No Wonder. A good choice to slow down the tempo a bit afterward by playing a more folky track. The strong vocals and bass lines come to the forefront again, along with some mandolin-like guitar and harp playing. Next you can enjoy Wired To Worry, which starts with a very strong intro. Again the folk-side of the band comes to the forefront. However the tempo is a bit faster now Again, also here the strong vocals and bass parts get your attention right from the start. However the other instrumentation on guitar and keyboards is worth mentioning as well. Most of all the excellent guitar solo and Mellotron kind of keyboard parts. Also the harp does a great job! Next up slowdown again with the very short instrumental Fields. Mainly performed on the harp and a cello coming from Synclavier. Very beautiful sounding. With Show Me we go back to the sound of the album opener. Up tempo with strong guitar and bass parts. Back to the more folk side of the band on the next tune which has the title Looking Back. More relaxed sounding with beautiful synth horns. Before we go to the epic kind of song on the album you can first enjoy Gia. A love song about a Japanese girl. A mix of folk and rock on one composition. More up tempo this time around. The album ends with probably the highlight of the album. The Mind's Eye Trilogy is divided into three parts: Goodbye My Love, In The Mind's Eye and Peace Of Mind. It features Garry Galloway on keyboards. However he probably never heard the end result because he had already passed away. This piece of music goes into the musical direction of the earlier mentioned UK band Yes. Mainly because of the vocal, bass, Lap steel guitar and synthesizer parts. This epic track is a worthy ending to an excellent album. I can only be positive about the excellent nine compositions they put on this great comeback album. As for the booklet I can only be positive too. Great inside information about the history of the band and the songs separately. Of course beautiful pictures are included as well. From the old days and recent times. Conclusion: An excellent sounding album for lovers of Yes and Asia, with a twist to the folk side of progressive rock. I wonder if they have some brand new compositions in store for the future. Because this strong comeback album demands a sequel. Hopefully Art In America can surprise me! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
