This stunning indie release was an immensely gratifying surprise - right away it became my new favorite album. I knew only that the band had been called a "female fronted Rush", an apt comparison in many ways (shifting prog song structures, a hard rock orientation with softer acoustic contrasts, skilled playing), but it misses out on some of what makes the album powerful and special - most notably lead singer and songwriter Blair's amazing multi-instrumental talents (violin, viola, cello, keyboards, guitar) and the tremendous passion in her lyrics and vocals, which can range from fierce ("Commercialized Waste", a denunciation of shallow culture), to tortured ("Sweet Vaccine", an ultimately triumphant love song with a perfect title metaphor), to darkly serene ("Precious Delirium"). The band themselves describe their music as "progressively alternative rock"; it encompasses nailed-in-place metal riffs, dark soundscapes, and ethnic world-music flourishes. 

The hard-driving violin-led instrumental "Road to Damnation" spotlights ferocious playing from guitarist Patrick, whose versatile, fluid, and thoroughly satisfying work throughout exhibits both crunch and taste. "Dragonflies in Hurricanes" is a sparkling alterna-rock power ballad; the instrumental title track is beautifully eerie and gothic; "Assassin (Someday)" is an enigmatic, expansive, prog epic. Most musically exciting is the apocalyptic "Rust", starring a pair of lovers who "burn like violins", which starts out pogoing in place, then soars into the sky, then surges forward with incredible force before circling and spiraling into the inferno - and that's not even mentioning the cyberpunk section, the instrumental oasis, or the vintage synth solo. An overwhelming and thoroughly successful collection - listen and become a Junkie.
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