NOVELLA is a good record at best, but too often feels contrived. The pompous orchestral arrangements almost seem to be trying to hide the fact that the musical themes aren't as strong as they should have been. Only Annie Haslam's performance keeps me from rating this even lower. It seems the band had found a working formula that they chose not to tamper with just yet, but inspiration was lacking here. "Can You Hear Me?" certainly echoes some of the earlier Renaissance classics, but feels a little too subdued for its own good. Another missed opportunity is "Touching Once (Is Hard To Keep)" which has a few interesting musical ideas, but becomes tedious and overlong in its overly ambitious, meandering path from beginning to end. The album has many moments that seem promising, but the songs are too bloated and lacking in substance.
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