XXX

XXX is a work by the original lineup on which ASIA carefully layered translucent keyboards, melody-minded guitar and calm vocals. True to a title commemorating the band’s thirtieth anniversary, there is a matured flavor here that only members with a long career could draw. While keeping the constructive quality derived from progressive rock, the songs prioritize beautiful melody arriving naturally over showing off complexity. Even gentle songs are carefully arranged down to the details, and the more you listen back, the more each part’s role becomes visible. John Wetton’s matured voice and Geoff Downes’ neat keyboards give the whole work a calm dignity. Where grown-up AOR feel and progressive refinement meet naturally, it is a neat, flavorful record that wins through the songs’ own completion rather than flashy devices, holding content that shows the post-reunion band having entered a steady creative period.