Flying Colors

Third Degree

The prog-rock supergroup returns with gusto! Flying Colors comprises Steve Morse, Neal Morse (no, they’re not related), Mike Portnoy, Dave LaRue and Casey McPherson and their third album features nine melodic power songs with plenty of spots for Steve’s riffing and soloing to take up its spot centre stage.

There’s a Chris Cornell/Jeff Buckley quality to Casey’s vocals, especially on opening rocker, The Loss Inside, blending well with Mike and Neal. First single, More, is a strong groover with a vibe akin to Muse, pulsing with great chord changes, thick guitars, swirling synths and a baroqueesque call-and-response middle section. Cadence features the guitar layering and chord changes we’ve come to love from Steve’s earlier solo career – the classical meets rock sophistication that graced albums like High Tension Wires and Coast To Coast. The compressed clean tones on Guardian – think Adrian Belew meets Mike Landau sonic terrain – are almost infectious, as is the crunch guitar layering and the soaring emotive solo.

Into the second half of the nine-track album and Last Train Home (not linked to Metheny’s famous piece) is a 10-minutelong journey that moves from spacey ambience to strumming acoustic and a triplet rock jaunt with shifting syncopations. As for the funky bop meets eighth-note rocker Geronimo, it dips into the waters of Toto’s late 80s with exquisite musicianship and cultivated arranging.

If you’re hankering for a melodic rock album that straddles multiple genres with panache, this is well recommended. [JS] Standout track: Guardian For fans of: Dixie Dregs, Dream Theater