Daymoon is a progressive rock band from Portugal and headed up by vocalist/ multi-instrumentalist named Fred Lessing. He’s joined by Andy Tillison (keyboards, backing vocals), Hugo Flores (Vocals) and many others too numerous to mention here. The debut album by Daymoon is called All Tomorrows. Fred had done other albums under his own name but this is the true starting point for Daymoon. I should note that the proceeds of this album, in digital form, went to help Fred pay for treatment for his wife Ines’ cancer.
It took me several listens to take in all the music. At first I was going to say Daymoon is a very good neo-prog band but there‘s so much more going on musically, especially in the vocal arrangements. Most of which reminds me a bit of Giles Giles & Fripp.
Opening the album is “All Tomorrows” (4:47), which has a majestic style similar in ways to Spock’s Beard, The Flower Kings and similar acts. There’s so much happening within the under 5 minutes, that each time I listen to it, new sounds emerge. There’s some Queen like instrumentation towards the end, especially in the guitar.
“TranscendenZ” (2:28) is a heavy prog/jazz combination that gives the first notice that this isn‘t your typical prog band.
“Human Again” (7:34) remind a little bit of early Eloy, especially in the vocals. I’d add that it has a very memorable chorus that I found myself humming along with. This is one of my favorites on the album.
“Marrakech” (2:36) is the second shortest track on the album which contains the most progressiveness in it’s short time.
“Sorry” (10:58) has that Giles, Giles & Fripp vibe I mentioned previously. It’s almost like Daymoon was channeling GGF and bringing it to a present day instrumentation. There’s a bit of a folk vibe within the song too. The second half is more symphonic based.
The next four songs can be thought of as a “suite”, mainly because they segue into each other seamlessly. Starting with “Bell Jar” (6:03) has a perfect blend of accessible & complex instrumentation. Then on “First Rain” (5:24), a acoustic based song with vocals that again remind me slightly of early Eloy. “Arklow” (6:56), which has a Middle Eastern folksy vibe as well as a memorable melodies throughout the track. Then we have the fourth section in this “suite“ called “News From The Outside” (4:43). It’s mostly acoustic based and has a more accessible & simple vibe about it.
Ending off this amazing album, is the longest song on the album, “The Sum” (13:49). Everything I like about Daymoon is on this track. If I had to choose one track to represent the album, this would be that one.
In closing, if you like your prog to have more than the typical sounds and structure then look no further than Daymoon and it’s debut album, All Tomorrows. It’s highly recommended! (I believe the best is yet to come.)
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on January 6th, 2012
