Aria

Aria is a full second-era work on which ASIA rebuilt its drama in a 1990s sonic image, centered on John Payne’s singing and Geoff Downes’ keyboards. While the melody opens wide, complex harmony and longer development avoid an easy landing into mere AOR. The keyboards are not mere ornament but change the songs’ scenery and create thick depth between guitar and vocals. On “Anytime,” “Desire,” “Sad Situation” and “Military Man,” the harmony shifts behind memorable choruses as the keyboards bridge to the next scene. Songs like “Are You Big Enough?,” “Remembrance Day” and “Reality” breathe a heft and lyricism particular to the Payne era. Pursuing grandeur through the strengths of a new lineup rather than tracing past hits, it is a rewarding record aimed at listeners who want both melodic sense and constructive beauty, with arrangements worked out to the details that reward repeated listening.