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SYRINX
Time Out Of Place

Ocula (2025)
Rating: 8.5/10

Here’s a contender for album of the year from Canadian / U.S. band Syrinx. Time Out Of Place is an exceptional progressive hard rock record that thinks outside of the box and introduces some very interesting dual male and female vocals.

Syrinx boast a wistful 70s vibe, injecting occasional bite into an otherwise sublime and fluid piece of art. Sure, this has more in common with an extravagant rock opera than your basic heavy metal package, but one can’t help but be beguiled by its layers as hints of Rush entwined with Fleetwood Mac via Genesis. At their rockiest there’s an alluring waft of Judas Priest and Fates Warning, but when all thrown together it becomes a pastoral potpourri of ethereal wonder.

The contrasting vocals of JP Abboud (ex-Traveler) and Lady Chanelle drive this nine song affair very much into the past; choppy yet haunting, melancholic and enticing and at times slightly uneven to further the unorthodox notions of this rock n’ roll tapestry. Instantaneous tracks like ‘1875’ are caressed by psychedelic brushes, swaying coolly with an undercurrent of Hawkwind but without the cosmic sweat.

The tag team vocal display is soulful and retro, an intriguing clash that struts in either department. Seth Lyon’s cymbals crash throughout this outing, given the band extra punch when needed. The rockier moments emerge through raucous stomper ‘Unraveler’ which doesn’t shy away from a glam rock trash can thump. Meanwhile, ‘The Knowing’ somehow merges space age rock opera with a flash of ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me’ by The Police.

There’s always an air of the unpredictable with Syrinx which was sewn on 2019 debut album Embrace The Dark – Seek The Light, but this time round the grandiose nature demands your attention. Flustered with flamboyance and streaks of technicality, ‘Shades Of Your Purpose’ jabs like Rush but begins with a cool lick from Graham McGee whose fire is crucial to the Syrinx sound, more so when the more watery moments seep in and mirror 70s progressive tumbles.

Although vocalist Abboud is versatile he does tend to struggle with the higher register, he’s no Geddy Lee, but I can forgive him. In fact, I’ve no real issues with the album, even with its vintage scent there’s still an extravagance as exhibited on ‘A Waking Dream’ with its otherworldly noodling and pure theatre on closer ‘It Left’. There’s something colourful at every turn even if the kaleidoscopic landscape is a familiar one.

Neil Arnold

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