The Striking Cover of the album.
This new album (Nick's sixth in as many years Is inn many ways a follow on or a campanion album to last years The Mask Of Sanity, As once again Nick leans on the writings of Psychoanalysist gCarl Gustav Jung for his inspiration. Especially in Jung's thought on the Psyche and Identity, which are rather deep and emotional waters in which to swim.
The reasoning behind this is that Nick has been greatly aided in his own personal Identity by understanding some of the traumas he experienced as a youth, I don't know exactly what these were but I can certainly identify with him and his desire to make sense of the world as he sees it.
The album consists of 9 tracks, one being an introductory piece performed on acoustic classical guitar the remaing 8 tracks form a suite The Oddessey Of An Empathic Soul.
In the liner notes Nick says that the first track is the end of the journey, with the other tracks acting as a narrative for our protagonist.
That first track Song Of Acceptance is a satisy8ng opner with a very pastoral sound to it, possibly as the track seems to empathise the journey has been successfully completed and that new understanding and enlightenment has occurred as a result.
The next track is where the fusion element is greatly increased The opening track of which is To Be Sen To Be Heard is dedicated to powerhouse drummer Robert Porto. Such his inspirational drumming and creative presence on this album.
The track is a blistering one, Yet oddly enough Nick is more than content to share the spotlight with his fellow musicians, This is in part what his oddessey of an empathetic soul results in, Maybe the trauma that nick has faced has resulted in a lack of self confidence and so rather than draw all the attention to himself him, He is happy to share the limelight as that satisfies his soul more fully,,When he does let loose nhe is certainly on fine form, with fast runs and tones, I am very much reminded of Alan Holdsworth who ploughed a not too dissimilar style of playing.
Third Track is Light Of Becoming, this has some fine bass guitar from Johnathon Ihlenfied Cuniado in its grooves, and has a very atmospheric sound to it all. Courtesy of Thomasz Bura, in addition there is a recurring guitar motif from Nick on his guitar synthesiser I am really enjoying this great track as it very imaginative.
We then move onto the albums title track An Unfolding Of Miracles, which opens with fretless bass and chiming guitar tones, before a gentle sequence which reminds me of the great Pat Metheny as the guitar sounds suitably cinematic in its sound and stylings, We are also graced with the wordless vocalisations of Olga Dikajee Karpova which adds dramatically to the sound of the track.
Next we have Unravelling Of Illusions , This has Caroline Bonnett adding keyboard textures to the track. This begin like a prog netal workout with Nick providing the bass guitar as well as the great guitar work on offer here, Once again with Dikajee’s wordless vocals in support, this is another strong track with a great guitar rifff and rhythm to it.
The next track is a shorter one entitled Only Now In Dreams (part 1) it is a rather gentle track with a great sound which leads us into the next track The Pain Of Fire, - Fire is often employed as a metaphor for cleansing and burning away the rubbish that accumulates in our our lives . I guess that is what this song is about a clearing out of the rubbish, the trackmgives way to acoustic guitar halway bhrough as Nihckn solo's over the top of it all. A pmost impressive sounding track.as is the following one The Abcission Zone - Abcission is the natural shredding or the intentional separation of body parts Here it means shedding what no longer serves us. Whether this is a situation of relationship
It could be a toxic relationship or letting go of old versions of ourselves, past career paths or beliefs, It can also refer to emotional detachment that occurs through transitioning major life changes or loss, either way this is an important track of the album and indeed the journey thus far.
The final track of the album is Only Now In Dreams (part 2).which concludes the album gently along with more Dikajee vocalisations, and some fine guitar lines and gentle percussion elements.
Another thing I should mention is the wonderfully enlightenii*ng poem from Samantha Rurner that graces the middle pages of the booklet, this expresses in words, what the music is trying to impart, at least that's my take on it all.
I have to say my initial impressions weren’t as favourable as they are now that I have had the time and luxury of repeated listens, where the music has unfolded itself to me and I can grasp what it is all about.
This is without a doubt a very accomplished piece of music that is well conceived, performed and produced. However for me it ranks behind both Quadrivium and A Longing For home which I find are both more accessible for the average listener, That of course is just my view, I know others vglmay feel differently about it, What is not in questiion is the sheer talent and compositional skill of Nick Fletcher or his astounding guitar playing.
A most worthwhile listen that will appeal to any lpvers of jazz fusion type guitar playing or music.
Info here: www.nickfletcherguitarmusic.com
Author John Wenlock-Smith Wednesday 21st October 2026.