Back with their third album, there has been yet more significant line-up changes in this project which continues to evolve and delight. Drummer and songwriter Derek Ferguson and producer Ian Beabout (Colouratura) are still there of course, with Mitch Lawrence (clarinets and saxes) now being promoted to full band member after guesting on 2024’s ‘Intourist’. This time around there are two new special guests who have had a huge impact on the overall sound, namely bassist and vocalist Jan Christiana and keyboardist and vocalist Dyanne Potter Voegtlin (both from Potter’s Daughter and Octarine Sky), and if that was not enough there are also a series of guests including David Jackson (VDGG), Rick Witkowski (Crack the Sky), Joe Deninzon (Kansas) and Jerry King (Cloud Over Jupiter) among others.
The result is an album which sits somewhere between pomp rock, prog rock and AOR and there are times when we are transported back to the late Seventies with the highly melodic and double-tracked harmonies, so much so that at times I was reminded of Angel while at others it could be Stryper, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Kansas, Asia, Styx etc. This album is a massive V-sign to all those who feel that any music even remotely tinged with prog has to be navel-gazing and intense as this is a blast from beginning to end. I have long felt that Dyanne is a wonderful singer and keyboard player, so it is wonderful to hear her and Jan embracing this opportunity away from their own bands, and they certainly fit in incredibly well with Derek and Ian’s vision for Refestramus.
This album has been out for nearly a month now, and I am somewhat surprised it has not been picked up on by more writers and critics, as this just makes me smile with its light-hearted approach which was probably out of date 40 years ago but shows what can happen when great musicians just want to have fun in the studio. It will be interesting to see where Refestramus heads next, but I would love to have more of the same please! Thoroughly enjoyable with great songs and performances this is a wonderful time machine. 9/10 By Kev Rowland
