......Of course, no one (or almost no one) buys an album strictly for the liner notes, no matter how pretty or informative. Thankfully, Lagoon Of Eternity is full of beautiful synthesizer and guitar spacemusic, perfect for either literal stargazing or just taking a mental tour of the distant galaxies from one's own bedroom or favorite listening chamber. As I mentioned earlier, Kevin's expanded palette of keyboards brings a new level of excitement to his compositions, although don't be expecting any heavy Berlin school thumpers or pulsing, percolating beats. This is still relatively quiet contemplative music, just with more variety than on Light From Orion. Sometimes, Kevin's keyboards are isolated, such as on the opening of track 2, "Trifid Nebula," which begins with a swelling warm drone that merges into whistling and twinkling effects before Abbott's glissando guitar peppers the background with stardust.

"Star Clusters" is a selection where Kendle truly branches out, although he opens with characteristic warm keys and synths, but Abbott's guitar soon comes gradually into the picture, tentative at first but eventually in a wonderful staccato-style of playing (I'm guessing this is Shaw's treatments I'm hearing) which is matched by gentle pulsing sequenced bass beats. I wouldn't call it Berlin-esque, but surely this is the closest Kevin's ever come to crossing the channel to Germany, musically speaking. Things actually get kicking into high gear quite nicely, beating along at a mellow but powerful clip. Another neat track is "Ascella" on which it's just Kevin Kendle and his synths and moog. The song certainly has classic spacemusic elements in it, sparkling with twinkling starlight tones and aglow with warm and long washes of analog-sounding synthesizers. Unlike Light From Orion, Kevin keeps the high drama to a minimum here (not a lot of powerful swells or crescendos) until the last track, "Star Cloud," which has (near its conclusion) a powerful burst of Demby-esque chorale majesty, or as described in the liner notes "In this piece, more and more stars become visible as the sky grows darker, culminating in an awe-inspiring ocean of stars."

If Kevin Kendle continues to fine-tune and improve this side of his musical persona (and Light From Orion wasn't bad, it's just that Lagoon Of Eternity is even more accomplished), he's going to be one of the more versatile electronic keyboard artists in new age and ambient music. Having followed his career since 1997, his talent no longer surprises me (long ago I realized how gifted he was), but his versatility certainly does. For lovers of warm flowing spacemusic (provided they enjoy the recognizable "voice" of the glissando guitar), Lagoon Of Eternity comes highly recommended...."

Review by Bill Binkelman, Wind and Wire

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