Paul J.No, Sébastien Bournier, and Jean-Philippe Benadjer are back in full force. Who, you might ask? For those who don't know who they are, we'll step back into the time machine for a moment and go back two years. 2024, the year I got to know the band Lunear, based in Avignon (France), through their excellent album From Above (see review). The successor to Gostraks (2022), Curve.Axis.Symmetry (2020), and their debut Many Miles Away (2018). I even approached them after the mentioned album, and we had a nice conversation (see interview) regarding this album and their past and future. The gentlemen haven't been sitting still since this album and are now releasing the equally excellent There Is Always Next Time. As you can see, this is already their fifth studio album. In my review of the last studio album I wrote:"I am really looking forward to what the future has in store for this wonderful band. However for their next album don't expect From Above 2.0 . They don't think that they can do better than this album, so they'll have to do something else. But they promised it will be epic. Let's wait and see! For now both thumbs up for this fine release". So now the moment has arrived to find out if it really isn't better than its predecessor. With over fifty minutes of new material to discover, it naturally takes a while to hear whether it sounds good or bad, or if it is better or worse than the material on their predecessor. But from the start, it becomes clear that the three gentlemen have done everything they can to give the listener a good feeling after hearing the new songs. It is immediately noticeable that there are no bad tracks to be heard and that the overall musical standard is quite high. Is it epic, as they promised? That depends entirely on what you mean by that. Epic means something that is extraordinarily impressive or out of normal proportion. Or great or legendary. This is clearly not the case here, no matter how good the music is. The band's progressively oriented music, on the other hand, does feature pieces that are epic in length and clearly showcase their progressive rock influences. The best examples are the two longest tracks on the album. The almost ten-minutes long Rain with its strong guitar solos done by JP Benadjer and the over 15-minute-long Christmas Flowers with its excellent keyboard parts done by Paul J.No. Those pieces of music most of all reveal that they are clearly influenced by acts such as Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, Supertramp, and Marillion. When mentioning highlights, people often think the rest of the material is inferior, but that is usually not the case. This is also true on this album. As previously stated, the album contains no weak moments, and the eight tracks are of high musical quality compositionally. Therefore, there is actually little to nothing to complain about regarding what the musicians present on their new album. However, not everything is equally complex and difficult to digest. No, the music is easy for the average listener to understand, especially because there isn't as much use of different tempo changes or breaks. Paul J. No's vocal parts, like some of the melodies, are easy on the ear. It is therefore not surprising that some songs really have hit potential. Songs like Tom & Colin and I'll Remember This are good examples. For the more advanced listener, the more adventurous tracks are naturally the ones they will pick out. These are, of course, the two previously mentioned songs, Rain and Christmas Flowers. But also the beautiful up-tempo Pool Balls, in which JP Benadjer's amazing bass parts clearly grab attention. This is also the case on the even more up-tempo The Wilderness Within. Two beautiful songs that primarily demonstrate that the band has a lot of musical talent. Finally, I would also like to mention that the beginning and the end of the album are musically very well done. At the start of the opening track Tom & Colin, you hear beautiful harmony vocals singing the album's title: There Is Always Next Time. This returns beautifully in the closing track, Next Time. A beautiful, short, more acoustic ballad in which the band indicates that there is always a next time. In summary, one can state that There Is Always Next Time is a beautiful album that does not sound too complex yet is equally captivating because all the songs are of high musical quality. Paul J.No, Sébastien Bournier, and Jean-Philippe Benadjer prove once again that sometimes even the more accessible songs can captivate from start to finish. You don't always need difficult time signatures or breaks to keep the listener entertained. They prove that long, extended solos on guitar and synthesizers, no matter how beautiful they sound, are not always necessary in progressive rock-related music. That is why There Is Always Next Time by Lunear will appeal to many people. So let yourself be convinced too and listen to their beautiful music on their Bandcamp page. They are certainly worth it and deserve it. Thank you Paul, Sébastien, and Jean-Philippe for this beautiful album, which perhaps sounds just as good as its predecessor! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
