The One – Lighter Than Air Review

Back in 2023 we were surprised by a lovely progrock album titled Sunrise from a new band/project called THE ONE. This band is settled in my own city of Dordrecht, which makes it likewise a special release for sure, and thankfully they are a really great band compromised of established musicians from the local scene. 2 years later there is already a follow-up, and while their debut was a nice 70s progressive rock affair that showed their love for YES and GENESIS, this new album is definitely more akin to 80s/90s neo-progressive rock, and in general much stronger. In fact, 30 years ago this album would have been released on the defunct label SI MUSIC. However, now we have the excellent label CONSTRUCTION RECORDS, and they released this wonderful 2nd album Lighter Than Air. The band still consists of the same members as on their debut, which means it features 3 Dutch and 3 English musicians, namely Timothy van der Holst – Drums, Frank “Fish” Ayres – Spoken Word & Slide Guitar, Max Gilkes – Lead Vocals, Edwin in ’t Veld – Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Ron Mozer – Keyboards and Nick McGuire – Bass Guitar. 8 tracks are included, and besides a wonderful looking frontcover, the included music is also of a very high level, and it is produced very well, so it’s a joy to listen to the album from start to finish.

 

Opener and titletrack Lighter Than AIr is an incredible laid-back classic slowtempo neo-progressive rock piece that is filled with beautiful melodies and thoughtful instrumental parts, reminding of KAYAK, PENDRAGON, IQ, ENCHANT and all the other great neo-progbands of the 1980s/1990s, yet it definitely has a fresh modern touch in a similar way as for example MYSTERY. A truly sensational start and perhaps one of the best prog songs of 2025! The following song is the cheerful uptempo symphonic rocker Paint It Red, an uplifting song with the keys upfront and a sound that is close to 80s IQ and even IT BITES, while 80s FISH fronted MARILLION influences shine through during the beautiful epic piano led prog semi-power ballad The Wolf. Juno is a real proggy tune, as it takes a while to get into and it features a slightly complex rhythm, but after about 4 minutes we get to hear such a lovely soaring guitarsolo and a sorta short melodic chorus, it makes you want to listen to it over and over again. How A Shadow Feels is up next, and this is basically a great little melodic neo-progrock song with rockier and calmer parts, very much reminding me of KAYAK circa Close To The Fire. South Of Cookham Wood shows that Max is a fantastic vocalist, because he gives this 70s tingled progressive rock ballad an emotional approach, and once again (70s) KAYAK comes to mind, and I also need to mention the beautiful soaring melodic guitarsolo by the excellent guitarist Edwin. I’ll Be Gone follows, and this is a great semi-ballad with an epic approach, because it switches into an uptempo rocker halfway, while closing track The Beautiful Lie is another song that starts slow and calm, but develops into a massive sounding progrock journey that any progfan out there will love!

 

Concluded, THE ONE might have delivered here the best Dutch progalbum of 2025, because it ticks all the boxes. It’s classic Neo-Prog all the way and super melodic featuring a lot of beautiful hidden melodies you re-discover by each new listen, and the musicianship and vocals are top-notch as well, so I can highly recommend this new THE ONE CD to anyone who is a fan of bands like ENCHANT, IT BITES, KAYAK, PENDRAGON, PALLAS, ARENA, MYSTERY, etc. etc.

 

 

Written by: Gabor

Ratings: 8/10