Miracle Fortress-Five Roses:Record Review for UR Chicago Magazine

With the excellent “Five Roses,”(Secret City) Montreal multi-instrumentalist Graham Van Pelt (a.k.a. Miracle Fortress) draws influence from two Brians, specifically Eno and Wilson. The one man band achieves an ethereal bliss comparable to Eno’s ambient work and borrows Wilson’s penchant for sunshine melodies--note the harmonic interplay on Maybe Lately. That the band previously released a John Cale cover is telling; Next Train sounds like a lost track from “Paris 1919” with its repetitive drone and detached lyrical ennui. If the album suffers it’s from too much ambition. The vocals tend toward over-processed inaudibility--like back-up singers without a lead--which works sometimes (Hold Your Secrets to Your Heart), though not always (Have You Seen in Your Dreams); and the title track’s melodic collage fails to build any real dynamic tension. But overall these are minor glitches in one of the best pop albums you’ll hear all year.