Spectra are an instrumental five-piece progressive rock band hailing from Hamilton in Ontario, with a two-pronged axe attack in Andrew de Jong and Andrew Febbraro; Justin Ferrante on drums & percussion together with additional synthesizers; Alyssa Gelata on bass; and Alex McVittie playing keyboards, synthesizers, piano, and saxophone. There is a notable guest artist, Nicholas Boyko, who plays brass on Meridian.
They have released Places We Only Dream of, and you can take a listen to this at https://spectrabandofficial.bandcamp.com/album/places-we-only-dream-of where you can see ten pieces of music each musically providing a pastiche of a place or situation, and it is all performed and produced very nicely.
Let’s discuss what we have here.
Who Sleeps at Sunset is an overture to the main album, an introduction infused with a dreamy bass melody.
Solstice explodes out of the speaker by comparison with massive synth and guitar riffs with a solid rhythm section underneath. Influenced by ELP on the symphonic side and perhaps Dream Theater on the metal side, there is a slowing of pace halfway through before the intensity builds up again nicely, the drums especially strong.
I really like Meridian which features Boyko on brass. There is a wonderful funky groove to this track which I embed below, and I would be interested to learn of the precise location on the Meridian Line they refer to in this. There are some crunching riffs at the denouement.
Aurora I assume refers to the staggering Northern Lights, and there is, indeed, an expansive feel to this track, the synths creating the overarching soundscape beneath which we have urgent guitar riffs bringing a sense of not just wonder, but also trepidation I think, especially with the whirling keys and the guitars interacting as the magnetic field dances and collides with our atmosphere, the finale huge and filling the room.
Evergreen opens with a nice guitar solo imagining a journey through the forest in the wilderness and underpinning this is some pretty remarkable drumming by Ferrante, who puts in a massive shift on this album. A rock drummer, yes, but one with a definite ear for jazz sensibilities, and on this he and Gelata form a wonderful fusion core to the music, with some nice keys dancing over them before we get some more thumping riffs in between which, strangely perhaps, don’t sound altogether out of place. I think this is a wonderful piece of music, and it is embedded below.
Valhalla is a short piece dedicated to that hallowed heavenly hall for warriors, and the jazz infused keys and percussion at the start before the guitars enter are playful and light. When the guitar takes precedence, you easily visualise the mighty fighters standing on their tables drinking and regaling their comrades with tales of battles past.
Lost at Sea is the longest piece at just shy of six minutes and the piano introducing us is mournful, the guitars crying, a deceptively simple bass melody carries it along, this is a modern shanty, and it is exceptional, a strong contender already for my website’s instrumental of 2025 award. It is embedded at the foot of this review, and you again note how well this band are able to pick up the pace of a song without ever once losing the core elements. McVittie as a bonus provides a stunning sax solo amongst the expansive wall of sound the band create here.
Wide Open Field has a distinct commercial rock feel to it and really should, in a fair world, attract some airplay. One for fans of accessible FM rock.
Equinox has a playful synth lead over the riffs before guitar solos take centre stage in a bright number which I think has a distinct Celtic feel to it.
We close with Wastelands. Given the subject matter, the music is suitably darker, the synths and guitars reflecting the arid landscape very well. There is a great classic rock feel to this closer.
To conclude, I like this album. Spectra can play and I will be checking on them moving forward in future releases.