This 2008 EP brings to a close the story that had been developed through earlier albums and then coming to a climax on ‘Numbers and the Big Dream of Mr Sunders’. There are two reworkings (with vocals) of songs from that album, but the highlight is definitely the fifteen minute “Epilogue”, where we learn that the three Sunders’ brothers, Daniel, Adrian and Johnny, all end up together in the same asylum. As with all of their more recent works, the vocals are in unaccented English, while the lyrics are provided within the booklet in both English and their native Polish, a nice touch. I have never been able to understand why Millenium haven’t managed to achieve quite the acclaim withi prog circles as Riverside, as everything I have heard of this is extremely polished and enjoyable and here is another case in point. Although not an album, here we have 28 minutes of music that has not appeared in this form elsewhere which needs to be sought out by fans of the band as it really does provide a major link between their previous works and what was yet to come.
As always, the music and concept is by keyboard player Ryszard Kramarski, who then worked with singer Łukasz Gall on the lyrics, and complexity can often be replaced by a simplicity that is breathtaking. Listen to the introduction of “Dream About Aliens” to see what I mean, with Piotr Płonka’s guitar taking the lead and being supported by keyboards before switching roles. Elements of Collage, IQ and possibly Pendragon combine to provide prog that is symphonic and elegant and so very easy to appreciate.
www.millenium.art.pl
