One for fans who like their Prog Rock with a fairly convoluted concept and top musicianship.

Light Freedom Revival is the brainchild of one John Vehadija who operates out of Vancouver, Canada, and has a very singular view of how Prog Rock should be approached. This is the second release from the band, but they are a new name to me, and Vehadija must have some clout within Prog Rock circles as he's managed to get on board the likes of Billy Sherwood and Oliver Wakeman, plus other Prog notables as well, and with a title like 'Truthonomy', yes you've guessed it, it's a concept album to boot which is based around his own insights into all things spiritual and the science of Truthonomy itself.

Prog Rock is, at the best of times, a broad church, but Light Freedom Revival certainly fit into the genre, albeit they are very much at the melodic end of things. 'Truthonomy' is a pleasant enough listen and doesn't task one too much either, and that's not a criticism by the way. The musicianship is well done and on the whole, the song arrangements are fresh and vibrant, although the vocals are a bit hit-and-miss at times.

Opening track 'Lies No More' is a nicely melodic piece with some strange Country & Western-tinged guitar going on down in the mix (and that is not the only time it appears too). Other notable tracks include the likes of 'Jesus With A Guitar', which again features that Country & Western guitar I just mentioned but nevertheless glides along nicely, and the sprawling title track itself which, at over sixteen minutes in length, allows Vehadija to complete his particular vision of what Prog Rock means to him; rather than meandering, the latter does seem to have a purposefulness about it.

To be fair, this is a decent enough album and one for fans who like their Prog Rock with a fairly convoluted concept and top musicianship, and with the likes of Sherwood and Wakeman on board, you're sure to get that. One last thought though... is there any recent Prog album that Billy Sherwood doesn't play on? He seems to be everywhere right now!

Malcolm Smith