Known for his work in the U.K. bands It Bites and Arena, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist John Mitchell breaks away from group constraints with his new atmospheric prog project, Lonely Robot. Please Come Home opens with “Airlock,” a celestial instrumental that establishes Mitchell’s intentions as both epic and cinematic. Indeed, this is a dramatic concept album about how ancient civilizations such as the Mayans, Egyptians and Chinese used technology way beyond what should have been possible at the time. Although considered a solo outing, with Mitchell handling many of the instruments and vocals himself (and sounding at times like Peter Gabriel), he invited renowned prog musicians and singers to join him. He then gave them roles outside of their traditional boundaries. That’s how Marillion vocalist Steve Hogarth wound up playing piano on one of the album’s most beautiful songs, “Why Do We Stay?”
