July 26 2006
High Bias.com

The Attila & Dave Project - Illuminated

By Michael Toland

San Francisco’s Attila & Dave Project consolidates its considerable strengths on its third album Illuminated. The band’s organic progressive/psychedelic blend favors the prog side a little more strongly this time around, but that doesn’t mean the trio has devolved into an ELP nightmare. Rather, ADP stretches out into more expansive and dynamic structures, fleshing out its non-specific spiritual concerns with beguiling, memorable melodies and challenging arrangements. As might be expected, the strongest tracks are the longest; “Smoke & Mirrors” and the title tune genuinely need their seven-plus minute lengths to successfully get their points across. Any heaviness, philosophical or otherwise, is leavened by the band’s tendency towards winsome acid folk, as on “The Golden Gates” (even if it is about sacrifice) and “The Harvest Man.” The Attila & Dave Project is devoted to stretching its creative boundaries, but equally in love with melody. It’s hard to find a more winning combination than that.