The 2009 album Tales From The Four Seasons by the U.K. based Flood, headed by a man who records his music under the name of Flood. Flood performs all the instruments himself (guitars, keyboards, flutes and light percussion). The music on this debut album is acoustic based in the vein of Mike Oldfield, Anthony Phillips, the softer side of Camel to name a few. In my opinion, Flood is more on the same level as these artists.
Commenting on the release Flood further states, ‘My debut album Tales From The Four Seasons is an instrumental album. It began life as a short piece entitled Summer written whilst on holiday in Dorset five years ago. I liked the feel of the arrangement therefore decided to write a suite of four pieces based on the four seasons.
The album is split into 4 parts , each covering a season. Starting off with “Spring“, which is the second longest track at about 20 minutes. Next is “Summer “, which is the longest track at about 25 minutes.. Next is “Autumn” followed by “Winter”, both of which are the shorter tracks on the album (16:30 & 17:32).
The music brings visions of an English countryside (even though I never been) with each season reflecting a mood fitting. It could also bring up visions of the New England part of the USA. The album is such a wonderful way to relax in this time of turmoil and “chaos” and the perfect counterbalance to the intense music available today..
With each listen, I find it a more enjoyable album. With “Summer” being my favorite (season) and track of this album. If you enjoy the softer side of progressive rock then you must get a copy of this album ASAP! Sadly this is one of those albums that have gone below most people’s radar last year, including mine. It’s too beautiful of an album to overlook and it truly deserves more exposure.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on February 25th, 2010
