Nad Sylvan Progressive Voyages Review PV078

Nad Sylvan- Monumentata – Progressive Voyages Review PV078

Nad Sylvan has had an Interesting career, initially a solo artist then in 2003 he joined forces with Christian Thordin to form the project that became Unifaun. The results of that project were released in 2008, this led to him being discovered by Roine Stolt of The Flower King’s. This ultimately led him to be approached by Steve Hackett who used him on his Genesis Revisited 2 album and latterly his world tour. In this process Sylvan was signed to Inside Out ( now Sony Music) where he released 3 progressive albums, his Vampyrate Trilogy of Courting The Widow (2015), The Bride Said No (2017) and The Regal Bastard (2019). His next solo album looked at the poems of W B Yeats in the Spirit Mundi album (2021). An album that was done in co-operation with Andrew Laitres but released under his name to fulfill his initial Sony contract. It used WB Yeats poems as source material and was well received although its cover divided opinions.

Sylvan has remained with Steve Hackett for several more years of touring with the Genesis Revisited project he is currently in America completing the Lamb Lies Down tour. Nad once again had found time to record some new music, this has emerged this year (2025), Monumentata is the result. This is a far more inward looking, introverted and personal album for Nad coming as it does after the sudden death of his father at the age of 96. In this album Nad reflects on the troubled relationship that he had with his father and the distance between their worlds and themselves. It is an album of different moods and styles, from the Hard Rock of Wildfire and That’s Not Me to the more CSNY stylings of Flowerland and the bonus track Unkillable which has a very funky backbeat using electronica to good effect.

This is a progressively influenced album maybe not fully Prog but it’s definitely have in rooted in that genre, along with touching and embracing several other styles and genres. It offers the most complete snapshot of who Nad Sylvan really is. There are several guests who lend their support to this project. These include Nick Beggs and Randy McStine from Steven Wilson Turing band, Tony Levin and Jonas Reingold add bass parts to a few tracks and Marco Minneman adds drums to 2 tracks as does Mirko De Maio and Joe Denizon (Kansas) adds Violin to the track I’m Stepping Out. A few others appear as well but it’s all Nads showcase for his talents here really.

His fine voice and compositions get chance to shine here. I have to say my initial impressions weren’t entirely favourable but further playing reveals this to actually be a very fine album of carefully written and curated tracks which combine to offer a consistent narrative.

The album cover shows a photograph of one of Nads father’s tennis rackets. His father Hugh Wright Stewart was a champion player in the 1960’s before me met and married Nads mother (Agnete Sylvan) and Nad was conceived and born. His mother and father divorced when Nad was a toddler and his father returned to California. Nad was raised by his grandparents before his mother moved with him back go Stockholm whilst he was a child. When you know of Nads fragmented childhood and his move with his mother to Sweden as a child you can’t helped but wonder what impact that difficult period had and how all the moves must have affected young Nad.

For Nad this highly personal album allows him to close the circle of his life with both parents now being deceased and just Nad and his siblings from his parents’ other marriages remaining.

This album is his way of addressing that situation fully in his own unique and indomitable style. I appreciate it may not be to everyone’s liking but as a collection of songs there is enough here that warrants investigation for oneself surely? Personally I enjoyed the album after I’d persevered with it. It may not be his best work but it certainly does have some great moments performances and tracks.

Give it a try and decide for yourself.

Info here; www.nadsylan.com.

Author John Wenlock-Smith