Red Dawn Poledouris

A brilliant and affectingly different collection of transcriptions of favourite Bach movements, at times uniquely exhilarating, at others showing Bach at his most expressively touching… Adams's recorder playing is musically dazzling…but the other players complete an ensemble which is delightfully fresh and alive.

Red Sand was created by guitarist Simon Caron. At age 18, he started a couple of progressive rock bands and then left the music scene for a while. Unable to stay away from prog very long, however, he started to write again, searched for a band to perform his music and was soon surrounded by seasoned musicians most willing to oblige. Thus Red Sand was born. What strikes the listener is how "early-Marillion" the band sounds without seeming to imitate them. The compositional style, breaks and moods, the Rothery-like guitar play and the Nolan-like keyboard flights all contribute to this impression - even the albums' artwork bears that early Marillion touch; yet for some reason, it all sounds very much Red Sand…

In these unsettled days Red Bazar return with the rather timely album Things as They Appear, which casts a critical observational eye on some contemporary issues. Red Bazar were one of Progressive Rock’s ‘Surprise packages’ in 2016 with their rather more Gothic, and first vocal, album "Tales from the Bookcase", largely based on stories by diverse writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Alistair Maclean and Arthur C. Clarke. "Things as They Appear" is a distinct contrast and progression, more direct and grounded in style and content, more reflective of some of the current frictions in society.
Red Bazar have bravely taken a different direction from their last album - this is no sequel to the fine "Tales from the Bookcase". Whilst they touch on important issues of our times, they have very wisely chosen not to take a partisan or obvious political position…