Chilean band Aisles returns as a full band in 2009 with In Sudden Walks. This time around there’s more modern sounds and the production is almost flawless. There’s some Latin vibes mixed in with the symphonic side of prog. I wouldn’t classify this as a neo-prog band because there’s just so much more going on to limit to that label.
Opening up the album is “Mariachi” (10:01) and aside from the spoken word parts is a flawless song. This would have been better placed later on in the album, maybe even as the ending track. In many ways it really would be a great way to end off this album.
“Revolution Of Light” (4:42) makes me recall the Menel-era IQ again. It has “single” written all over it, well in a perfect world it would be.
“Summer Fall” (9:56) reminds me of the what can be expected from the Mexican prog band Cast. It has a pretty damn cool reoccurring theme that pops up in various parts of the song. This is also one of my favorites of this album and in my opinion, would have been a much better opening track for this album. There’s also some moments in the harmony vocals that remind me of IQ.
“The Maiden” (9:29), at the beginning it reminds me a lot of Genesis around the A Trick Of The Tail album, especially “Ripples” or “Mad Man Moon”. Then around the 3 minute mark it changes gears to an acoustic/electric mode with some fait Latin percussion. This is another favorite of mine from this album. It’s also the song that best represents the album.
“Smile Of Tears”(3:59) is the shortest track on the album and has a very symphonic electronic feel to it. Very much a keyboard driven track.
Ending off the album is the epic, Hawaii (15:00), which is very atmospheric throughout. It’s also not a typical epic, it’s more a collection of soundscapes and very close to the output of Gazpacho.
I feel In Sudden Walks is the next step in the evolution of Aisles and one of the better releases of 2009. I just hope the band won’t take as much time to release another album. I have a feeling the next album will break the band big. This is highly recommended for fans of modern symphonic progressive rock.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on September 23rd, 2010
