BACKGROUND MAGAZINE (Netherlands) no. 80 (December 2002), p. 42

Hermetic Science is a trio from California featuring Ed Macan (tuned percussion, keyboards), Jason Hoopes (bass, guitar), and one of two drummers, Matt McClimon or Joe Nagy.� Lots of percussion, which makes it quite an interesting formation.

Starting with a somewhat static version of �Mars� from Gustav Holst�s The Planets, the CD features the En Route suite in seven parts.� In the second part, the percussion is used very nicely, with vibraphone and assorted tom toms.� The overall sound is melodic, simply arranged, and very well played.� But the production sounds a bit dull to my ears.� Influences from old Canterbury stuff can be heard clearly (early Soft Machine, Caravan) but also avant-garde, Eastern music (sitars!), and modern classical passages fit in perfectly.� These musicians know how to impress their audience, with carefully-crafted and structured music.� Quite a nice listening, mainly for proggies who are looking further than the usual crossover stuff (*** out of ****).� Wouter