The second in a trilogy of albums from Lonely Robot, the solo project that John Mitchell revives whenever any of his other bands – It Bites, Arena, Frost*, Gandalf’s Fist – pause for breath, The Big Dream is of course a concept album. It’s a sci-fi concept too although the spaceman who starred in 2015’s Please Come Home has unexpectedly arrived back on Earth making it theoretically possible to start here. But then why would you want to simplify your life?
The plot matches Mitchell’s musical ambitions and his melodic inclinations mean he doesn’t have to resort to any over-blown prog trickery. In fact it has more in common with bands like Pineapple Thief, Sound Of Contact and even Porcupine Tree’s recent albums.
