A contemporary, math rock/post-rock flavored successor to the best and most experimental phase of 70's Yes, the Los Angeles based Perfect Beings have pushed the envelope further and further into cosmic grandeur with each successive release, of which Vier is the 3rd. Structurally, it is a four-part album that sounds like a cousin to Tales From Topographic Oceans...but with a wider palette of ideas, including Third Stream classic orchestrations ('The Golden Arc'), synth pop flavored ambient ('Vibrational') and jazz-fusion flavored post rock with Lou Reed inspired guitar buzzsawing ('Anunnaki').

Everything I've written here honestly does the actual album experience a disservice: there's nothing else like Vier in prog over the last few years, and all four songs tie together and reference eachother with little melodies and cues, giving the whole thing the feeling of a suite of some sort. This is how prog should be: challenging, relevant, occasionally poppy yet somehow head scratching and encouraging repeat listens just to catch everything you hear.

In short, it is my favorite album of the year. Enjoy!