It has been 13 years since Kino released their debut album “Picture” in 2005, but at last they are back with a second album, “Radio Voltaire”, which in every sense sees a partial return to what we already know and love about them.

“I was originally planning on doing a third Lonely Robot album,” says John Mitchell (Lonely Robot, It Bites, Arena, Frost*). “But then InsideOut suggested the idea of doing this new Kino record. So, I got together with Pete Trewavas when Marillion played the Royal Albert Hall in London, talked about the idea of doing this – and then we went for it.” Completing the line-up is Craig Blundell (Frost*, Steven Wilson) on drums and John Beck (It Bites) as a special guest on keys, continuing yet expanding upon the signature sound of “Picture”. While focussing on accessible and diverse songcraft, “Radio Voltaire” impresses with a vast amount of diverse arrangements and moods, making it a perfect, timeless melodic prog rock album, which Mitchell calls “a collection of pop songs, but ones we have messed around with.

There are a lot of happy tracks here, although towards the end we do get miserable!” If you want to know just how Mitchell et al have deconstructed their pop sensibilities and taken the tracks in fresh directions…well, you’ll have to listen!