The first cut, "the mind's eye", gave me hope and had the same pull at my heart as the old October Project did! Very thought-provoking lyrics! But as the ep went along, I felt the songs were too much the same in tempo...and the lyrics were starting to pall.

Marina is singing lead vocals now. She has a very clear, lovely voice, the kind of voice that never requires you to have (although they are included) printed lyrics (which would put her in the same category, to me, as the great Joan Baez). In the previous incarnation of October Project, Marina was mostly relegated to harmony vocals, so this is a showcase for her voice.

Harmonies are light and sweet.

There is not the intensity, the urgency that was given to the "October Project sound" by Mary Fahl. Marina's voice does have more yearning in it on "see with different eyes", however.

The only song that comes close to "rocking out", which at least has more of a BEAT, is "forget you".

Here we have a "kinder, gentler", softer version of October Project than before. This ep is pleasant, but leaves me wanting more, still hungry. There are little hints of the incredible harmonies of the old October Project; but it was as if the band were holding back.

If you are a Marina Belica fan, by all means get this ep! It is a showcase for her voice. If you are an October Project completist, get it. If you are looking for a rekindling of the old intense October Project fire, I would have to say, give this a pass.

--fleur