After having established the label Clearlight Music, Cyrille Verdeaux once more brings to life the old band which has given its name to the label. Steve Hillage is no longer a member, but Verdeaux himself is in good form.

With or without Hillage, Clearlight is still an ensemble of quality musicians. The wind instruments and Trevor Lloyd's plaintive violin give Clearlight's heavy sympho-rock a touch of jazz without indulging in fusion clichés. At other times, the wind instruments create a sligt Roxy Music-feeling. Shaun Guerin sings with his Peter Gabriel-like voice on two tracks, but his main task is as a drummer.

"Infinite Symphony" is actually a symphony. The album is not made up of songs, but of interlocking pieces, and tracks are called simply "Movement 1", "Movement 2" etc. Verdeaux is clearly aware that he is a composer rather than a songwriter. In this respect, the album's format is thoroughly consistent, and its construction well considered. All the time, the album alternates between heavy symphonic and dreamlike melodic music, though always melancholic.

During the hour or so that the album lasts, there is unfortunately a lot of idle time where the "orchestra" indulges in monotonous atmospheres. At first (approx 1st and 2nd movement) it is quite charming, but gradually it becomes tiring. The fifth movement is especially uninspired and could easily have been used as background music for movies. Luckily the record improves in the sixth and last movement.

Verdeaux' ensemble plays symphonic rock with a strong classical feeling and shows enough variation to raise "Infinite Symphony" just above the average.

©2004 Tarkus Magazine

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