Apparently, if you listen to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon while watching The Wizard of Oz with the sound down something amazing happens and the two become one cohesive piece of art rather than the pair of cringe worthy overrated stains on the artistic cannon that society insists on telling you are ‘classics’. Perhaps this is true. It’s difficult to fathom why anyone would want to try it, but apparently they have and apparently they enjoyed it. When listening to Thomas White’s first major release, The Maximalist you find yourself wondering if it would work better soundtracking camp sci-fi, Judge Dredd or Disney’s drama-fest, The Land Before Time. Either way, it doesn’t quite work on its own.

White appears to be dabbling in that incredibly unfashionable genre, prog rock, albeit sticking a little too close to the template for it to be wholly progressive. We’re propelled into his world of epic sustained guitars and affected vocals. A world where the drum kit can be as focal as any other part of the ensemble, every part of which is actually performed by the man himself. White is obviously an incredibly talented musician and song writer who’s put himself head first into this project, a love song to a deceased art form. Weirdly however, the album is at it’s best when it frees itself from the confines of the prog rock pretence.

For instance, halfway through ‘Moonlight and Snow’s mundane soft-rock we’re treated to a phenomenal two minute gurn inducing micro-beat frenzy. In the first 40 seconds of ‘The Weekend’ we’re teased with a truly brilliant dystopian hip hop beat. The album probably peaks at ‘Synapse Galaxy’ which opens like an early Dr Who theme and quickly melds into a sublime deep techno rave with a genius swell to the finale. Amazing. Two thirds of the way in, you’re probably ready for a straight forward song and that’s what you get. ‘Accidentally Like A Martyr’ is a beautifully tender rendition of a Warren Zevon song. Genuinely heart warming.

As a whole, The Maximalist is a difficult album to place. It frames moments of brilliance around a skeleton of unjustified drama and it has all the hallmarks of a concept album except an actual concept.