Sun Caged play a form of progressive rock and as such want us to know what their record is all about; 

“Artemisia is a metaphorical place.  In some ways it’s akin to Neverland, and in other ways, its opposite.  People we’ve lost and dreams’ we’ve let go find themselves here.  There’s sadness about the place, and yet a warm glow as we stroll among memories of what might’ve been.  The music paints the landscape, and the lyrics serve as our guide as we tour this place.  The classical metaphors and allegories are stripped of their pretence and rejoined with their humanistic origins.  Pain and loss are recurring themes, as is the never-ending quest for the understanding, strength and humility that living in the real world demands.” 

Obviously, that’s good to know. This is the band’s second album although only guitarist and founder member Marcel Coenen remains from the group of musicians who made the debut CD. Artemisia is a very strong record. In places it is reminiscent of Pagan’s Mind but with slightly less prog type noodling and slightly less melodious songs than the Mind.  

It took me a while to wrack my brains to discern who lead vocalist Paul Adrian Villarreal reminds me of but eventually it came to me… Tommy Shaw! Being a good investigator I spotted on Mr Villarreal’s Myspace site that he’s a huge fan of Mr. Shaw and I therefore gave myself a pat on the back for spotting that particular influence. There’s a distinctive mid-Atlantic twang to his voice at times, but it suits the band. The melodic rock comparisons don’t stop there as the record features a very clean production job courtesy of Marcel Coenen, Hans Reinders and keyboard player Rene Kroon. 

Sun Caged do the almost impossible in making a silly-named near instrumental (Engembert the Inchworm) into an appealing and worthwhile piece of work. They also make good use of a sitar on Departing Words.  

The first five songs are particularly strong taken as a group. The playing is uniformly excellent although one could might suggest that they are a little uninvolving and maybe lack a degree of warmth but perhaps that would be a little uncharitable. The second part of the album is only a little less good than the first but overall this is another little gem on the Lion Music label which is becoming more and more of a signifier of quality.

Artemisia is released on March 23rd via Lion Music

Let us know your views on 'Artemisia'

Track Listing

Lyre's Harmony
A Fair Trade
Unborn
Bloodline
Painted Eyes
Engelbert the Inchworm
Afraid to Fly
Dialogue
Departing Words
Doldrums

Line Up

Paul Adrian Villarreal – Vocals
Marcel Coenen – Guitars
Roel Vink – Bass
Rene Kroon – Keyboards
Roel Van Helden – Drums