This is an album I could hardly wait to get onto the CD player, because the previous evening Dave Law had mentioned that this was one of the
most exciting releases of its type (ie uptempo melodics and plenty of sequences) he’d heard for a long time. After hearing the album a few times I
can confirm that Dave’s enthusiasm is well justified.
At his best, for example the opening brace on ‘...the Arms of Venus’, Eric Snelders can produce music which is almost peerless. With ‘Scarlet
Dreams’ he has produced his most consistent set to date, packed full of memorable themes, poignant sections and sequences which are at times
beguiling, and at others blistering. Take the opener for example - ‘Fast Clouds Over Delicate Arch’. How would a mixture of Jarre’s ‘Equinox’ and
Chris Franke’s ‘London Concert’ sound? Fantastic? This track proves that the answer is emphatically yes. Storming sequences, searing synth
lines - it really is a peach of a piece.
The melody on ‘A Flock of Red Ibis’ is truly wonderful and reminiscent of the form shown on the aforementioned ‘...Venus’, while ‘The Singularity
Trap’ airs more sparkling sequences and creative thematics and crams an impressive amount of variety into 6 minutes. At 14 minutes ‘Conspiracy
of the Sirens’ develops into a tour de force of restrained sequencing and evocative choral synths.
I’ve got a feeling this album will be massive. For fans of modern EM it has everything, and sound quality is absolutely sparkling. Superb. (GG)
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