Nad Sylvan - 2025 - Monumentata

(49:42; Inside Out Music)






















I have long been a fan of Sylvan and have been fortunate enough to see him with Steve Hackett twice in recent years (strangely, only Hackett and Yes are able to find New Zealand on a map, where are the rest of the prog bands?). Here we find him back with his latest studio album, which is probably his most personal yet with a couple of tracks inspired by his parents. One of these is the title cut, which is about when his father died, leaving him without both parents. Sylvan explains, “I lost my parents, and knowing that they're gone—and that one day, I'm probably next in line—that felt “monumental” to me. That’s where the word ‘Monumentata’ came from. "Tata" means "Father" in Hungarian, and my dad was half Hungarian. So, I combined those two words to create something new. It's about losing someone and the disappointment.”

As with his other recent albums, Sylvan provides all vocals plus keyboards, guitar and bass but there are also quite a few high-powered guests adding their parts to make the album that much fuller, with the likes of bandmate Jonas Reingold, Randy McStine David Kollar, Neil Whitford, Marco Minnemann, Mirko DeMaio, Felix Lerhmann, Nick Beggs, Joe Deninzon and Tony Levin. The variety of musicians has allowed Sylvan to investigate a multitude of sounds and styles as looks back into the Seventies for some influences, and also into the current scene for others, always firmly within mainstream progressive rock. The highlight for me is “That’s Not Me”, which he describes as “James Brown meets Deep Purple” but for me is Gentle Giant through and through, but “Flowerland” with its classic Hackett nods also gets a special mention.

This is one of those prog albums which feels likes a favourite armchair, relaxing and comforting with loads of soft edges and nothing too angular. It may be a little too sweet for some in the current market, but for me this makes a very pleasant change from much that I listen to these days.  

Kev Rowland, September 2025

Links:
https://www.nadsylvan.com/
https://www.insideoutmusic.com/

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