There is a mind-altering nature to this music at least so far… let's see, we're about three minutes into track one, "Arrow," and inasmuch as it befuddles the mind with its sheer complexity and iridescent blend of industrial groove and soulful harmonies… a weird amalgamation from a versatile character actor. 

"Lines" sounds like a futuristic version of Cheap Trick --  particularly where the chorus is concerned, but we're mainly walking on solid ground with a few well placed bumps in the road -- this is like a psychedelic trip into the great beyond that somehow transfixes 1974 with 2031… a strange musical odyssey that's only just begun. If a comparatively easy draw was to be made, I for the life of me can't expound upon what this sounds like -- on the one hand, Gabrels does some pretty quirky guitar tricks in the background, but is clearly comfortable expanding upon modern technology and bending, stretching and shaping a sound wave until it's finally worn out and wafting off into the distance. 

In fact, "distant" is probably a good place to start when trying to decide one moment to the next where each twist and turn might lead… This isn't an album that lends to a clear focus, but an imaginatively sharp and shifty design -- and then there's this Kansas meets Yes meets King Crimson in the 21st century for the song "Jewel," which features the shared vocal duties of the likes of Frank Black, Dave Grohl and Mr. Bowie himself -- and it's a bold concoction that works amazingly well! In fact I'd dare say this has the makings for a rock radio hit in spite of its commercial vulnerability - it, close though it may be, is simply too advanced for a broad audience, yet makes the rest of what we're getting here seem a thousand years wide! 

Tender and soulful, yet completely off kilter, Gabrel's with his second solo outing creates something quite extraordinary -- The The's last release seemed to tilt in a similar direction, difficult to follow and even harder to cure… speaking of which, Robert Smith makes a special appearance for the soulful and sultry ballad, "Yesterday's Gone," which for all its spatial enormity manages to flutter and float back down to earth if only momentarily -- a broad and beautifully done piece with underlying acoustical tones that adds slight signs of life to a melancholic presence.