"Departure is a memorial to the "everyman"- From early youth, through departure from home and adventures, love remembered, new beginnings, the working years, reflections, and finally the last goodbye. Maxwell has drawn upon a traditional orchestral pallet augmented by various bagpipes and vocals. The latter primarily work as a part of the texture except in Gille Beag o, a sweet rendition of the Scottish traditional with the vocal front and center. This is not an orchestral creation exclusively, however, as elements of cinematic percussion and even subtle electronics are interwoven into the soundscape. At first glance, one could describe Departure as an alternate soundtrack to Braveheart. True, the album is very "cinematic", but the protagonist of our story is not a super hero going into battle, but an average person living an average life. In that respect, the story is a universal one. It is the seemingly small joys, triumphs, and losses from the end of a life looking backward that Departure captures." Review MJV Productions January, 2013