c o n r a d

The debut album from this Polish outfit is an impressive one. It draws on some of the old favourites for inspiration, among them Genesis, Pink Floyd and Camel. In fact, there are so many influences at work here that it's amazing that Quidam manage to create a distinct sound of their own. That they do so is mainly thanks to the vocal talents of Emila Derkowska, whose sweet vocals can occasionally produce a surprising amount of power, much in the style of Bjork or Kate Bush. The songwriting is strong throughout, especially on the first half of the album. If "Bajkowy" had been released by The Corrs, I'm sure they would have had a hit with it. There are hooks all over the place, an extremely strong bass line and a pretty 3/4 melody that is perilously close to becoming an earworm. Quidam also get both "Chobym..." and "Gieboka Rzeka" to work their way to a climax with as much expertise as some of bigger names in progressive rock. The band do take a few false turns however. The introduction to "Nocne Widziadla" should be thrown back into the eighties where it belongs. The album also lasts about fifteen minutes too long. The band manages a modest range of sounds and emotions, but simply not enough to keep the listener interested for over an hour. In all this is a strong debut effort, and a fine example of the somewhat lighter side of keyboard oriented neo-prog. This album is not one of my essentials, but it is certainly nice to spin it occasionally. I would suggest Quidam's second album, Sny Aniolow, first, and then get this if you want more of the same. review by Conrad Leviston — 4-20-04 —

j o e

An enjoyable debut effort from a promising band out of Poland. This is all I've heard of their catalogue so far. Overall, Quidam presents a neo-proggy sound, with orchestral swashes on digital keyboards (not as soulless as it sounds, actually) and some ornate, generally pleasing, yet conservative musical flourishes. Emila Derkowska lends some delicacy with her expressive vocals, cello, and flute to keep the masculine neo-prog power in check. There are sadly cheesy moments occasionally to be found (the beginning of the fifth track being a good example), but at the band's best moments (e.g. "Gleboka Rzeka," "Ptone"), they pull off some fine, uplifting moments. "Bajkowy" is my personal favorite, merging elements of classic Yes (the animated bass lines and mercifully restrained Wakeman fills) with classic Genesis (the soaring Hackett solo) to a successful degree. review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —

b r a n d o n

Very smooth, pleasant neo-symphonic prog with nice female vocals. "Pleasant" is the operative word here: it makes for a soothing listen, but lacks some of punch and complexity that makes the best symphonic prog classic material. The keyboards wander occasionally in the thick, heavy neo-prog sound, which isn't really my cup of tea; but otherwise there is some good stuff here. As could be expected from the neo-prog categorization, there's little real innovation here, but the band does do the lush, full Genesis-type neo sound very well. Nice guitar and flute work, and the aforementioned vocals are very expressive, though not quite as angelic as some fans have claimed. The real problem is that things sound kind of samey halfway through the disc; there needs to be a fresh influx of ideas to make the whole 65 minutes interesting (my favorite track remains the opener, "Sanktuarium"). In any case, add in a bit more power and variety and this band could have some real potential; as it is, they're already near the top of the neo-prog heap (at least, from what neo-prog I've heard). review by Brandon Wu — 11-9-99 —