There's a particular moment on Pallas' latest album "A Song for Tomorrow" that defines the album for me.

In the title track, a gentle female voice declares, singing

This is a song for tomorrow, if tomorrow ever comes/The world's changed, nothing's the same/Hold on to your mortal remains.

Dark and perhaps prophetic lyrics indeed. But just about then, the same verse is repeated again. However, this time, we hear two voices. The singer's and a robotic one.

A sign of the times?

Of course, the above is my interpretation only. Having said that, given the other lyrics on the album, I wouldn't be surprised if presenting that vision for the future wasn't the band's intention.

Musically, A Song for Tomorrow is just as dark.

I cannot tell whether it is their darkest. It's certainly darker than the records I know. It doesn't have the electronic sound of The Sentinel. Or the more prog-metal-sounding The Cross and the Crucible.

Yet, at the same time, the first thing you notice on A Song for Tomorrow is how much effort the band put into writing melodies and songwriting in general. It's such a melody-driven record. It's far ahead of the two albums mentioned above. What's more, many melodies don't follow usual harmonies and arrangements.

The opener, Reset, for example, features a lovely repeating motif on the keys. But when you listen more carefully, you notice how it goes against the rest of the band, and yet, glues it all together at the same time.

On Rage, the piano plays in contrast to what the rest of the band is doing, but in spite of that, once again, makes it all gel.

A Private Collector, my favourite track on the record, features a simple, one-finger piano melody throughout. It's so simple that it's almost hard to believe that someone would put that on the record. And yet, it makes the track to me.

And then, there are vocals. A Song for Tomorrow is also a vocal-rich album. All band members sing lead. Everyone also sings harmonies. Natasha O'Neal guests on the title track. Oh, and there's that robot. Although, I don't think it got a credit.

That combination of darkness, strong melodies and layered vocals gives A Song for Tomorrow a very particular character.

It is not an album that overwhelms you with complexity. Nor does it rely on sheer heaviness. Instead, it draws you in with incredible songwriting, and then gradually reveals how carefully those songs have been put together. I certainly haven't felt that with their earlier records I know, and it shows that Pallas are still developing.

40+ years into their career, that's something to applaud.

A very strong Pallas album.