Freedom To Glide - The Wait

(CD 2012, 23:59, Private Release)

The tracks:
  1- Wind And Gales (Rain part 3)
  2- Star Fall
  3- Zero
  4- Repose
  5- Remember
  6- Hypnotized



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In 2011 I informed you about a new British duo called Freedom To Glide, who had just recorded their EP Rain, part1 (see review). On this three-track EP Pete Riley and Andy Nixon sounded like Pink Floyd. That wasn't strange at all because both musicians played in the Pink Floyd tribute band Dark Side Of The Wall and as far as I know they still do! However, I also heard influences of Porcupine Tree, Clannad and Iona. I finished my review by saying that Freedom To Glide made their mark in the world of progressive rock with this EP. If the quality of their debut album reaches the same high level, the prog rock community has something to look out for. As far as I'm concerned I can hardly wait for the extended version of Rain.

In the meantime I have followed the duo on the internet and I noticed several short messages of which one said: 'Hi all, we're currently in the middle of writing and recording more new songs to be included in the Freedom To Glide debut album Rain. We're very pleased with how things are going and will upload a few new demos up on the site soon.' That sounded promising indeed! The next message said: 'Freedom To Glide are going to release The Wait on Remembrance Day, the 11th of November 2012. This is a collection of six special edition tracks; four of these tracks are exclusive to The Wait and are not going to be featured on the full debut album Rain.'

The musicians were so kind to send me this six-track mini album. I was eager to find out whether the Pink Floyd influences could still be found in their music or not. Well, the first two tracks Wind And Gales (Rain, part 3) and Starfall sound rather mellow and contains hardly any traces of Pink Floyd, except for the guitar parts. I think they have chosen to explore other musical territories. It's even difficult to compare them to other bands this time, so they weren't afraid to push the musical boundaries. However, a song like Zero sounds as a forgotten track from The Wall. The music also has become more aggressive and is played at a faster pace. The same could be said about Repose starting a bit like Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Comfortably Numb. Francesca Genco provided some wonderful wordless vocal parts to this short instrumental piece. Without an interruption this track segues into Remember and this time the influences of Pink Floyd are completely gone. Although the music is up-tempo, the atmosphere is rather relaxed. Nice keyboard patterns can be heard in the background making room for another short, but outstanding guitar solo.

Hypnotized is the final track of The Wait and again some traces of Pink Floyd can be noticed. It's a rather mellow piece on which the strings performed on keyboards provide the music an orchestral sound. A nice interlude is played on a classical sounding acoustic guitar leaving the listener in a pleasant mood. Freedom To Glide once again recorded a professional product that makes me curious about their first full-fledged album. Again this British duo made their mark in the world of progressive rock with this six-track album.

**** Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen)

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