In 1967,
Syn issued a couple of obscure British singles containing some quite good mod-psychedelic tracks. Almost 40 years later, they reunited to produce an entire album. Well, sort of reunited -- the only original members here are lead singer
Steve Nardelli and bassist
Chris Squire (the other future
Yes man from
Syn, guitarist
Peter Banks, is not on board). Those expecting anything like those old
Syn singles will be disappointed, though those who are interested because of
Squire's
Yes connection will find the sound has a familiar ring. Most of these are extended pieces -- all but a couple last seven minutes or more -- that sound rather like
Yes in their more pop-oriented stages, though without
Jon Anderson's vocals, of course. It's rather like hearing a slightly middle-of-the-road version of
Yes, with plenty of multi-sectioned song structures and progressive rock interplay between the instruments. There's also a vague upbeat mystical tone, sounding especially like
Yes in their more anthemic moods on the chorus to "The Promise." It's well executed and well recorded. But it should have been credited to
Steve Nardelli and
Chris Squire, or a different band name than
Syn, as the links to the '60s
Syn sound are virtually absent. ~ Richie Unterberger