Easter Island Review by Steve Nicholas, listed in New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock "When I listen to MotherSun, Easter Island's follow up to their self-titled '80 debut, I find it incredible to think that the 1st few times I heard this album, I didn't care much for it. I think perhaps I had some preconceived notions of how it should sound based on my having a copy of Now & Then. (Now & Then is basically their self-titled LP with a few extra tracks-one of them newer.) After a few listens though, this CD quickly became one of my favorite things to come out in recent years. The lineup has changed completely with only Mark Miceli remaining as the bands primary composer. He also is the only vocalist on MotherSun, unlike the first album in which he only sang a little. Mark also expanded his role by taking over keyboard duties, making this newer lineup a trio rather than a 5 piece band. Richard Streander joins and adds his unique lead guitar to the lineup, whereas Mark was the only guitar player on the debut. Richard also contributes some additional lead vocals and sings backup throughout. Perhaps this is why the music on MotherSun often consists of layers of rich guitar textures while keyboards often take a backseat. (At least in comparison to the debut album). The band utilizes a lot of modern electronics in their sound as well and the production is top notch-very crisp and clean. Drummer Bob Chapman is nothing short of incredible and never dull to listen to. His drumming stays complex throughout the CD and never stagnates into simple timekeeping. It's hard to describe the music on this CD (versus the debut which is comparatively easy) because nobody else really sounds like this. Suffice it to say that the music is very deep and atmospheric with incredible musicianship throughout. If your tired of bands that have too much of a style or have too many songs that sound similar, Easter Island's MotherSun is a great break! NO two songs sound alike on this CD. There are also some very interesting and diverse instrumentals, from the synthy ambient "Cosmosis" to the hard rocking "Tetrahedral Blues". The lyrics are very intelligent and add their own mood to the music. Standout tracks to me personally are: "Show the Way" for its depth and beautifully dreamy keyboard solo; "MotherSun" for its depth and sheer beauty; "DrawDown" for its relentless intensity & strangeness; "Everywhere I Go" for its dreamy spacey ness and deep lyrics; ditto "Life Goes On". This is also an album in which every time I hear it, I notice something new...a sure sign that a lot of thought was put into this release. My highest recommendation-just remember that its a challenging album and may take a few plays to get into it."