For You, For Me, For the Sake of a Name
Artist – Clouds On Strings
Label – Self Released
Length:  7 tracks, 33 minutes

First off, I have to say that one of the band members was part of the  youth group I worked with at a church in California.  He has since gone off to college and formed a band.  He sent me the link and told me to go and give their first record a listen.  Honestly, I am always nervous when people I know ask me to listen and give feedback.  I tend to be very blunt and will say what I think.  So I went ahead anyway and gave it a listen and I really like it.

Next, I have to admit that I don’t follow the progressive movement that much anymore.  But as I listened to the tracks it reminded me of what I did like about it.  The songs reminded me immediately of some of Kansas’s finest work. The vocals are very understated which I appreciate since most of what I dislike about progressive music is the theatrical voices.  All the songs are very well constructed and played.

These five guys are onto something and I encourage them to keep growing as writers and musicians.  If you are interested in hearing this fine release you can go to the following website and listen to the album in it’s entirety:

http://cloudsonstringschico.bandcamp.com/

If you like what you hear, you can pay whatever you want to download the tracks.  Of the seven tracks, I particularly enjoyed "Gameshow Jesus," "Onward To The Ravine," and "The Iconoclast."

By Gar Saeger
Submitted 1/12/10