Asia - Omega

For their second bite at the reunion cherry, the pomp-rock quartet have more than just tweaked their sound, they’ve positively revamped it. There’s the unmistakable Asia AOR beat and lush harmonies on the latter half of the radio ballad I’m Still The Way and the rousing I Believe; but the opening Finger On The Trigger is closer to Icon, or Wetton-era Uriah Heep, while the singer’s solo stamp is evident on the mid-tempo Listen Children. Geoff Downes gets free reign to mould all manner of keyboardscapes on the reflective Through My Veins, melancholic Ever Yours and experimental End Of The World. Light The Way even adds a trance element to the tempo-shifting rock on offer, while bonuscut Emily melds slide guitar and piano pulses into 60s pop. Eclectic indeed.