Pareidolon are a five piece from Vancouver, British Columbia. This new Canadian progressive rock band was formed in 2015 by bassist and composer Lachlan Tocher. They released their first album Aporía in 2017. Which was in a way a school musical project. This year they surprised the progressive rock audience with their excellent second album. Titled The Unattainable Shore. It was this album which attracted my attention as well. I was really surprised what Brittany Keller (voice), Ashley Pearce (guitars, vocals), Anna Katarina (piano, organ, synthesizers, vocals), Aybars Savat (drums, percussion, vocals) and the earlier mentioned Lachlan Tocher (bass, guitars, synthesizers, vocals) had accomplished music wise on this album. The new album is a major step forward for the band if you compare it with their debut. The eight years they took to come up with this album were well spent when you hear the final result. The Unattainable Shore is a loose thematic concept album, with each song being a different musical statement, but each dealing with the idea of striving for a goal and falling short. It's a concept album in the way Octavarium by Dream Theater is, or Tales From Topographic Oceans by Yes. Before I go through the songs separately, I'll have to highlight the exceptional instrumental and vocal performances, including the effective use of both male and female vocalists and the virtuosic bass playing on the album. Thumbs up for the diverse and creative sound you hear on the album. Because the album features a wide range of musical colours, from heavy prog-metal to atmospheric, jazzy, and psychedelic sections, with creative sound design and manipulation. It's a great blend of diverse progressive rock styles all in all. In A Distant Orbit Exciting is an exciting opening piece with beautiful flute playing by Sophie D'Orleans. In a way it was inspired by Pink Floyd, which you sometimes certainly can hear. The song sets the standard for the whole album. Emotional Tides (The Unattainable Shore) is another exciting piece of music with strong bass parts. The song was inspired by Rush and Arena. But Genesis comes to mind as well together with King Crimson and Marillion. Baard Kolstad (Leprous) features here on drums. Ghost Ship is a more relaxed and laidback piece of music with beautiful playing on the acoustic guitar. However, towards the end the tempo goes faster and the music is heavier. By doing this, we are moving to the next piece more smoothly. Invasion, Pt. III: Return To Earth shows more the heavy side of the band. Worth mentioning is that it includes nice organ parts. This song also goes fluently into the next track which is titled... Exhaust / Manic starts with distorted sounds before it turns into a great heavy up-tempo track with jazz influences. Not so strange if you know that this composition was inspired by the music of Metallica. Voie Aérienne is the epic piece on this album. Twenty-four minutes of the best progressive rock possible! The song was inspired by bands such as Opeth and Dream Theater which you certainly can hear. It goes from tender musical passage played on the acoustic guitar and piano towards more heavy guitar riffs and emotional solos. Derek Sherinian (ex Dream Theater, Planet X) joins here to do some excellent organ and synthesizer solos. The Ebb And Flow Of Heartache ends the album. It was inspired by Leprous. It starts rather laidback but towards the end the song seems to explode with a lot of noise caused by heavy guitar parts. A great ending of a great album! Overall, I can say that The Unattainable Shore is highly recommended for fans of progressive rock, particularly those who appreciate a blend of heavy, atmospheric, and complex musical styles. Fans of Opeth, Leprous, Dream Theater, Pink Floyd, Rush, Arena, Genesis, King Crimson and Marillion will certainly enjoy listening to it. A beautiful album with seven amazing compositions on it to enjoy! An album which in my opinion belongs to one of the best albums of 2025. So well done Lachlan Tocher and his fellow musicians in Pareidolon!!! **** Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
