Tuesday The Sky's origins could almost be considered accidental. Guitarist Jim Matheos, famed for his work with Progressive Metal giants FATES WARNING, penned a few songs that did not fit in with any of his established outlets, and intrigued by this, decided to write more and see where this took him. The result was 2017's "Drift," and now he returns with its successor, "The Blurred Horizon." "With this one, I knew going into it that I wanted to do a follow up, so it was much more intentional and planned out," he says. "I kind of fell into the first record, but having done that, it set the tone and direction for the overall project, and I wrote with that in mind this time around. Musically, it's worlds away from what I usually do, much more introspective, and quiet." The album contains eleven tracks.

"Half Remembered" opens the album, with clean and dreamy tones. Half-way through, and a darkened tone begins to creep in, but it doesn't overtake the ethereal feeling you have so far. "Near Light" is another quieter, more introspective song. Easy flowing tones make you feel good, and alive. But, it is quite light on the sonority. "Cwmwl" is the third track in a row of almost Post-Rock sonority, without the instruments that often accompany the genre. "Where the Enemy Sleeps" is another very quiet track. When Jim said this was a quite album, he wasn't kidding. It's almost too quiet to even give a fair review. Some electronica mixes in with the ambient guitar tones, sounding like liquid moving through ice slowly, bubbling from underneath the surface every minute or two.

"Laudanum Dream" sounds like a dream that you are deep in the middle of, restfully sleeping in your bliss. Towards the end, soft thunder enters, but it stays hidden in the background. "Hypneurotic" is the first song with more energy, and vigor. A harder tone accompanies this song, along with some electronica accents, as well as some heavier drum tones and audible bass notes. Some ragged guitar tones cut in, and this song has a certain darkness to it that is hard to escape. "Later, Then Now" is a short three-and-a-half minutes. It is so soft, that you barely notice the time passing. "Near Dark" is another shorter song without much sonority at all. "Half Forgotten," the counterpart to the first track, is a play on words of sort...is something half forgotten, or half remembered? Is the glass half empty, or half full? Clean guitar tones with plenty of reverb ring out, joined in soft layers by other instruments.

"The Blurred Horizon" perhaps sums up the album as best as any track. Some very emotional, clean leads occupy much of the song, done with as much soul as Jim can muster. "Everything is Free" closes the album. Wow...vocals? Interesting. I like them...they add a poignant nature to the album. It is more of a statement than anything. "Everything is free now...that's what they say. Everything I ever did...got to give it all away" he croons. It's a fitting end to an album that leaves me with a few questions as well as some head-scratching moments, as I'm just not sure what to make of it overall. Even a few repeated listens didn't help me much.

When artists have the ability to create their own music, free from the boundaries of their band mates and record label pressures, a very personal experience can follow. This is what we have here, although the lack of much in the way of "music" really makes it hard to deliver a fair review. I can appreciate melancholy music, so this type of sound isn't strange to me. But the bulk of the tracks are just so hushed. Jim is obviously a big talent in Progressive Music...take a listen for yourself and make up your own mind about the album.