The Foundation
„Relations“
Neo/Melodic Prog. Digibook CD, 2025

Pendragon. The Mission. Arena.  Da klingelt doch was? Richtig, melodischer Neo-Prog. Ron Lammers, Initiator von The Foundation, nahm diese Art des Progs für sein Projekt als Basis. In dem Konzeptalbum  geht es um verschiedenste zwischenmenschliche Beziehungen jeglicher Art. Die Liste der Musiker ist lang: 

Ron Lammers – Keyboards
Mark Smit – Vocals, Piano
Rinie Huigen – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Jens van der Valk – Guitars
Gijs Koopman- Keyboards, Bass Guitar, Taurus Pedals
Masaki Shimakawa – Violin
Judith van der Valk – Flute
Jan Grijpstra – Drums

The songs are melodic song-driven neo-prog. Flute and violin are used but "Relations" thrives on vocals, keyboards and guitar. I miss the more fiddly parts but neo-prog thrives on melodic parts, so it's fine. The eight songs add up to over 50 minutes. I won't introduce individual songs; you'll find out how I feel about the concept album in the conclusion.

The conclusion is twofold. The look and feel of the book and the design are very appealing. What I don't like about my copy is the sound quality. It sounds thin, muddy, and lacks depth at times. Only the vocals sound good. Even on Spotify, the album sounds significantly more dynamic and broader. It's a shame, as it should sound much better on CD.

The celebrated neo-prog is positive; anyone who likes Pendragon, Arena, or The Mission will find something to their liking here. Personally, I find that unexpected element missing, but that doesn't detract from the quality, of course. Unfortunately, the CD I have doesn't quite capture the sound. Spotify, however, shows that the sound quality is good, so it gets a thumbs up.

The photos are all from my CD. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.