Bruce Main returns with his sophomore release, Layers. The music is very much in a similar vein to his debut but with more sounds and styles added including some carnival sounds and a heavier guitar presence in some areas. His music has grown enough to say he’s in league with recent artists such as Guy Manning (British multi-instrumentalist/singer) and Wilton Said (Canadian art rock artist) as well as the classic prog bands Pink Floyd and Camel.
This time around I found the song structures to be tighter and flow better than in his debut. This to me is a sign of a great musician that evolves rather than dwells in common places. Bruce’s music is a very melodic song based progressive rock. If this isn’t your style of prog, please move aside so others may enjoy this wonderful artist’s work.
Layers’ to me is one of the better releases of 2005 and with proper exposure, should be on a few people’s “best of” lists at the end of the year. Please do yourself a favor, buy this and Tracks, you won't regret it, plus you’ll be helping the future of self produced progressive rock artists.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on July 19th, 2005
