WALFAD (apparently short for We Are Looking For A Drummer) was founded by singer/ guitarist Wojciech Ciuraj in 2011, and this is their debut album, recorded in 2013. Apparently it is a concept album, but given that it is performed entirely in Polish the theme is somewhat lost on me, but it concerns a young man growing up in Silesia who comes to believe that even in an industrial landscape something special can emerge. Overall this is a very pleasant piece of work, with some nice basslines behind the main guitar that definitely adds to the overall feel. But the downside is that it is just that, pleasant. There is nothing here that really excites me, and the effect is somewhat muted as if the band wanted to play their version of neo-prog very safely indeed and not take any risks. But without excitement and drama this album comes across as being quite one-dimensional, which is a shame as they obviously know what they are doing, but they need to inject some more contrast into the music and not take such a singular path.
There have been some very good Polish bands over the years, but these guys are going to have to take a serious step up to be considered in the same terms as Collage or Riverside.
www.lynxmusic.pl
