01	Slingshot Round The Moon						04:50
	02	Cobalt Coast						05:13
	03	The Eighth Room						06:36
	04	Freak Weather						13:42
	05	Cape Canaveral						03:28
	06	The Battle of Morton Ridge						02:14
	07	Spirit						11:22
	08	Drift Glass						09:53

Blue Drift - Cobalt Coast
Blue Drift - Cobalt Coast
Country of Origin: UK
Format: CD
Record Label: Independent
Catalogue #: CARP 786
Year of Release: 2003
Time: 56:34
Info: Blue Drift
Samples: None
Tracklist: Slingshot Round the Moon (4:48), Cobalt Coast (5:28), The Eighth Room (6:35), Freak Weather (13:46), Cape Canaveral (3:29), The Battle of Morton Ridge (2:23), Spirit (11:30), Drift Glass (9:55)

*Updated 14th April 2005 with website details.

Very little information arrived with this release from Blue Drift and after much searching, I find there is no website in order to glean any additional insights as to this band (however I am assured that one is on the way). Therefore the music will have to speak for them, which fortunately it does very well. What I can tell you about the men behind Blue Drift is that they are based in the UK, have played together in one form or another for many years now and comprise of John Lodder (bass), Dave Lodder (guitar and keyboards) and Arch (drums). If the latter two names have registered with you in some way, then you may be aware of their involvements with The Morrigan.

Musically the band offer accessible prog rock instrumentals that at times veer towards jazz rock, but always retain a melodic base and a strong sense of structure. Personally I am a keen fan of instrumental albums, but am always wary that they can so easily lose the listener if the music becomes merely an avenue for the individual musicians to display their abilities. Such is not the case here, as all three players interact well together and although solos are taken by all, the music always remains listenable.

The album opens in fine style, with the up-tempo Slingshot Round the Moon, with pretty much all the right ingredients in abundance. The playing immediately grabs your attention, with the drums freely flowing over structured backing riffs. The uplifting themes are played in harmony between the guitar and keys, with frequent breaks for brief, solo sections to be taken. Interesting touch was the analogue synth sounds which added credence to the notion that this track was reminiscent of some of Camels earlier instrumental material. In contrast the following track Cobalt Coast has somewhat darker overtones and following from the 'whistling' synth introduction the subdued tempo serves as an excellent backdrop to the fluid and seemingly effortless solo passages from Dave Lodder.

The Eighth Room moves more into the realms of jazz rock, with its varied, up-tempo rhythms acting as a catalyst for the free flowing instrumentation. Again the background structure remains melodic and interesting, which acts as one of the pluses for the album. Longer solo sections are allowed when entering The Eighth Room. Some of the Latinesque nuances and percussion passages (played by all) did conjure some thoughts of Al Di Meola's early work. Freak Weather, on the other hand, was a track that required more listenings, as initially I thought the track to be overlong and possibly a little uninspired. However, the more I listened the more was revealed within the music. The opening up beat flurry soon dissolves into the calmer mid atmospheric sections, which in turn rises and falls with its subtle changes and infectious time signatures. It is in fact Arch's drumming that comes to the forefront during many of the segments of this track. Actually on about the third or fourth run through, it dawned on me that the music aptly captured the changing facets of the "freak weather" in the title. That's the problem with me and subtlety, if it does have a big sign saying "subtle", I tend to miss it.

The two shortest pieces from the album offer an interesting divergence and possible the more quirkier moments from Cobalt Coast. The first Cape Canaveral has a simple but infectious "punk" like riff serving as the backdrop for the instrumental sections. The "p" reference is more to do with the nature of the chord structure, as this track again offers some tasteful and fluid guitar from Dave. The title of the next track, The Battle of Morton Ridge offers some insight into the music, with anthemic keyboards offering a sharp contrast to the perhaps "tongue in cheek" marching rhythm and which is once again released by the sweeping guitar flourishes.

The second of the two longer pieces from the album opens with an ever driving and increasingly intensifying riff, segueing into firstly a randomly generated synth section and before descending into a gentle atmospheric middle section. A drone bass synth haunts the sound, accompanied by ethereal keyboards and sporadic guitar licks. Rising from this interlude is the repeated opening riff, this time in a more protracted form and with an Eastern flavour, peppered with swelling keyboard chords and subdued solos. The end section was a little too repetitive for my liking and always felt that it should reach a crescendo rather than fade out. So to final offering from the album Drift Glass and again the band use a repetitive motif, this time played on a twelve string guitar, but to much greater effect. First listening through I was not wholly convinced, but this probably was more influenced by the previous track. Drift Glass builds on this simple, repeated acoustic guitar part, (which remains throughout), as each of the layers of instrumentation are added and this time is superb. Dave Lodder's fluent guitar style here is reminiscent of Joe Satriani in his more laid back moments. The fade to the acoustic instrument works really well this time round, forming a pleasant outro to the album.

An enjoyable album and for those music fans into melodic prog instrumentals, this is one to give some serious thought to purchasing. At the time of writing this article Colbalt Coast is only available directly from the band (John Lodder, 103 Moot Lane, Dowton, Salisbury, SP5 3LE, UK ), although there are plans in the not too distant future for the album to be available from The Morrigan's website.

Conclusion: 7 out of 10

Bob Mulvey