Label: Insideout Music
Release date: April 9, 2021
Production: Nad Sylvan
Album length: 52.54 min
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
“Spiritus Mundi” is the seventh album from Swedish-American singer Nad Sylvan, best known for his long-running collaboration with guitar legend Steve Hackett. The charismatic vocalist, who rose to fame as a member of Hackett’s backing band Gensis Revisited, where he very successfully fills in for both Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins, is also an intriguing solo artist in his own right. “Spiritus Mundi” follows the so-called “vampire trilogy,” three concept albums inspired by vampire themes. This time around it’s a collection of fully standalone songs with no overarching concept, even though Nad drew mostly on the work of Irish poet William Butler Yeats when writing the lyrics. Most of them are tied to water one way or another.
Besides Canadian keyboardist/guitarist Andrew Laitres, who played a key role in shaping the “Spiritus Mundi” arrangements and chipped in on vocals here and there, Nad got help from a few old pals: Steve Hackett on 12-string acoustic guitar, cult bassist Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel), bassist Jonas Reingold (The Flower Kings, Kaipa, Karmakanic) and drummer Mirkko De Maio (The Flower Kings). Nad knows the latter two well, since they’re on the same label (Inside Out Music), and Reingold recently became the bassist in Steve Hackett’s touring lineup too. On top of that, Nad has worked many times with their “boss” Roine Stolt, as a member of Agents of Mercy and on Stolt’s recent solo project The Flower King. The excellent production was handled by Nad himself.
Unlike the previous three albums, which were more or less marked by a melancholic, gothic and dark mood thanks to the vampire theme, “Spritus Mundi” is a brighter, lighter album in atmosphere. It flows beautifully right from the opener “The Second Coming” and quickly convinces the listener that Nad has pulled off another symphonic prog treat. Fans of classic Genesis and Steve Hackett will fall for “Spiritus Mundi” easily, from the very first note to the last. Nad is a true master of theatrics and chameleon-like transformations, and his voice, an ideal hybrid of Gabriel and Collins, sounds like it came from some long-gone, far more idealistic and calmer era (and not just musically).
Anyone familiar with Nad’s earlier solo work, especially the aforementioned vampire trilogy, knows that the theatrical singer mostly steers clear of the eccentricity and experimentation that occasionally marked some of the early Genesis and Peter Gabriel adventures, and instead swears by mighty symphonic arrangements and melancholic acoustic guitar “still lifes.” “Sailing to Byzantium,” seasoned with a nostalgic, at times sacred and mysterious mood, packs lavish orchestral arrangements and still, acoustic passages, while Nad’s vocal mastery, as on all the “Spritius Mundi” tracks, is the main glue holding this splendid composition together.
The acoustic opening of “Cap And Bells” strongly recalls early Genesis and some of the prog legends’ evergreens, led by “The Musical Box.” It’s the intro section in particular that brings that masterpiece to mind, with Nad’s tale “from some long-ago time” about the decadence of Britain’s “high” society. “The Realists” is a shorter piece with acoustic-orchestral harmonies, featuring vocals from both Nad and Laitres. “The Stolen Child” has a dramatic structure and an antique-flavored “story” that for a moment reminds you of classic Genesis, only without the bigger experimental twists. “To An Isle in the Water,” where Hackett’s 12-string acoustic guitar plays a key role, is among the most atmospherically beautiful pieces of Nad’s solo career so far. Just as inspired and spiritually tinged is “The Hawk,” which has just the right amount of nostalgia and drama and is laced with subtly colored acoustic arrangements and hypnotic vocal harmonies that will make the heart of every fan of classic Genesis and Hackett’s solo catalog sing.
“The Witch and the Mermaid,” which tells the story of The Little Mermaid, one of Hans Christian Andersen’s best-known fairy tales, is a short, acoustic-leaning song with ethereal vocal harmonies. “The Fisherman,” which closes the regular part of the album, keeps a good balance between melancholic and cheerful moods throughout. It’s also among the most interesting moments on “Spiritus Mundi,” and Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks would surely approve of its symphonic textures.
The first bonus track on the album is called “You’ve Got to Find a Way.” It’s an upbeat ballad where Nad’s vocal kinship with Phil Collins comes through even more than usual. Despite the title, it has nothing in common with the well-known Genesis ballad “Your Own Special Way.” “To a Child Dancing in the Wind,” the second bonus track on “Spritius Mundi” and another acoustic-leaning “requiem,” carries a mysterious mood and stylistically recalls Genesis from the second half of the seventies quite a bit. After a short pause, the song hides a secret track, a short acoustic ballad with Laitres on lead vocals.
With “Spritus Mundi,” Nad Sylvan has made yet another great album that deserves a high rating and will make happy all lovers of “old-school” symphonic progressive rock who cherish the life and work of his friend Steve Hackett and classic Genesis. With his past studio efforts, Nad has proven time and again that his solo records are worth the attention of all prog-rock romantics who miss the unforgettable atmospheric magic of classic Genesis and find Hackett’s solo albums aren’t enough to satisfy their appetite for top-notch symphonic prog rock. That’s exactly why the high quality of “Spritus Mundi” is no surprise.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
1. The Second Coming (6:58)
2. Sailing to Byzantium (6:40)
3. Cap and Bells (4:48)
4. The Realists (2:17)
5. The Stolen Child (4:58)
6. To an Isle in the Water (4:36)
7. The Hawk (4:10)
8. The Witch and the Mermaid (1:58)
9. The Fisherman (5:28)
– Bonus tracks on CD:
10. You’ve Got to Find a Way (5:53)
11. To a Child Dancing in the Wind (5:08)
Lineup:
Nad Sylvan – vocals, backing vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, orchestrations
Andrew Laitres – guitar, backing vocals
Guest musicians:
Steve Hackett – guitar on track 11
Tony Levin – bass guitar on tracks 1, 2, 3 and 10
Jonas Reingold – bass guitar on track 7
Mirkko De Maio – drums on tracks 1, 3, 7 and 10
Neil Whitford – guitar on tracks 7 and 9
Steve Piggot – guitar on track 9
Kiwi Te Kanna – woodwinds on tracks 6 and 8
