****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
As a big fan of Airbag, naturally I was interested in hearing what Airbag's guitarist could do with full creative control. This album is tremendous.It seems to me that Airbag's arrangements rest squarely on Riis, because Lullabies sounds like the natural extension of Airbag's first three albums, but differs slightly - the main difference is Riis' guitar work. Where Airbag strikes a fair balance between keyboards, "space," and guitar, Riis' focus here is primarily on arranging music around his guitar playing. Furthermore, I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Riis' singing - he's actually quite good, and I'm surprised he doesn't contribute more singing on Airbag albums.The music itself is lush - the opening track a monster synthesized crescendo with "Another Brick in the Wall" type of background picking. From there the music cuts off except for a faint synth and then Riis' muted guitar comes in with singing and then we're off. From there, the experience meanders among post-Waters Floyd, Deadwing-era Porcupine Tree, some Anathema, and middle era Marillion. If any one (or some, or all) of those descriptions interest you, then don't hesitate to pick this up.
