Dazed #13: Lonely Robot, Perfect Beings, Angra, North Atlantic Oscillation, Adeia

As every progger on the planet already knows, the laws-of-physics-defying (he's everywhere at once!) John Mitchell of It Bites, Frost*, Arena, Kino and countless session jobs finally came up with his solo project. Please Come Home is tagged as a Lonely Robot album, but that's just the project title the humble Mr. M. has chosen to use.

No reason to be humble, though. The album features John at his most energetic, with just a couple of of his wistful ballads. There's little downright prog here; I'd call this mostly prog-tinged art/power rock. Hooks and strong riffs aplenty, likewise choruses that will stay with you, with a zillion little details built into the structure. And I love his raspy, warm and so very human voice - one of my favorites of current lead singers in any band.

JM is a brilliant songwriter and Please Come Home puts this very much into the spotlight. No long solos or instrumental passages, with songs staying within the 4-5 minute range, and they all pack a considerable punch. Nice album art too :)

My rating: 5 / 5

Perfect Beings from the USA crept up slowly into my radar range, with a number of people giving high marks on their eponymous debut album. I finally got to listening to it and it is a doozy! Hard to categorize, too, with influences ranging from prog to typically American alt.rock to XTC's (if you're a fan, check out this albums's Helicopter from 1:45 on!) slightly psychedelic art rock and even Beatles/Lynne -style harmonics.

It took a couple of plays to turn my initial "what's this?" reaction into warmly liking this stuff, and now I'm growing really, really fond of this. It's an example of crossover prog or prog lite I truly enjoy: a band that clearly plays what they want and how they want it. I admire the clarity of the overall vision, with excellent production, clever song arrangements and that hard-to-explain element that gives a band their own identity, even when some of their benchmarks can be recognized. More, please!

My rating: 4,5 / 5

A wonderful thing has happened on the prog metal front: Brazil's pride Angra are back - and they are back big time!

I've loved their mix of power metal, prog metal and occasional Brazilian influences for over a decade and felt genuinely sorry when, after a number of lineup changes, the great Edu Falaschi left the lead singer's chair empty in 2011. They had been moving in a slightly softer, Queenrÿche-ish direction with their last albums with Edu (Aurora Consurgens in 2006 and Aqua in 2010), with original drummer Riccardo Confessori putting in a dazzling comeback performance on the latter album. The music was solid but the albums did not sell too well, and I was expecting to read about the band's end sooner rather than later, especially when guitarist Kiko Loureiro released an instrumental solo album, and a very good one, too.

But now it's the debut of Angra Mark 3, with Rhapsody of Fire's Fabio Lione on lead vox and a very young, twentysomething Bruno Valverde behind the drum kit. And these two have set the band positively on fire. Simply put: the new album, Secret Garden, may be their best ever, period.

It's a stunning show of force and artistic maturation, ranging from fierce and truly heavy metal to symphonic drama, prog moments, ethno-musical references and quieter, lyrical passages. They have done all that before but never with this intensity and bravado. This just may be Angra's A Trick Of The Tail, the moment when a band proves their strength after losing a charismatic frontman. Everyone plays perfectly, Valverde is a real revelation, and Fabio's vocals, just a bit rougher than in his Rhapsody years, are just right for Angra. And since there's more prog here than in any previous Angra album, I could not be happier.

Parabéns, guys - Viva Angra!

My rating: 5 / 5

I have never acquired the taste for Radiohead, and the quite numerous bands that follow their combination of electronica+alt.pop+prog tend to leave me totally cold. Scotland's North Atlantic Oscillation are a notable exception to the rule. Already their debut cautiously rang my bells and the follow-up, Fog Electric, was positively intriguing, displaying a strong songwriting skill to go with the mastery of the electronic soundscape.

With the brand new album, The Third Day, N.A.O. really come into their own. This is a veritable dream house of manipulated sound, carefully constructed aural dreams and extremely well honed songwriting. The prog element now has more weight than before, taking the overall experience to a 21st century version of what was called Art Rock in the 1970's. If 10cc or ELO were young bands today, they might be close to this.

My rating: 4 / 5

In closing, just a reminder that it sometimes pays to try what seems improbable. The Dutch band Adeia's debut album Hourglass combines classical music (both mainstream and modern) with extreme metal and prog - and they actually get away with it. Mind you, they are not doing the Nightwish-style quasi-classical/symphonic thing but integrating undiluted chamber music styles, vocals and instruments into the metal paradigm, with liberal doses of prog mixed in. Not radio friendly, and actually rather challenging.

I find the experiment successful and the only complaint I have is that some of the songs could have been worked on a bit more, there are passages that rest on fairly standard riffing. I have no idea if Adeia is supposed to be a continuing band or a one-off project; I hope for the former but even if it ends here, I cheer their skill and sense of adventure!

My rating: 3,5 / 5

Dazed #12: Sarastro Blake, Narrow Pass, Nick Magnus, Schizoid Lloyd, The Unthanks

In my previous posting I gave marked Narrow Pass as a band to keep an eye on. That was on the strength of their debut from 2006. I have now listened to their later albums, and am happy to report that 2009's In This World And Beyond and last year's A New Day are both elegant and lyrical progenies of the early Genesis / Hackett ca. 1979-80 lineage. Narrow Pass seem to be one of those bands who compensate their fairly obvious non-originality with an honesty and openness that's hard to resist. And the music is quality stuff in their chosen genre.
My rating for both albums: 4 / 5

Like Narrow Pass, Sarastro Blake is an Italian project, led by guitarist Paolo Pigni. SB's 2013 album The New Progmantics is a nice piece of "pastoral crossover prog", for want of a better description. Filled with guest spots by British prog veterans, the album takes no great risks or chances, preferring to stay on a vaguely Renaissance/Camel-ish path. The execution is immaculate and even if there are no bright innovations, the result is very enjoyable indeed. Fans of King Crimson or VDGG are advised to steer clear, but if you enjoy your music with a cup of tea and a misty view from your window, this is pretty perfect. Note: the SB website was last updated in 2013 so it's very possible this is all there will be from them.

One of the guests on Sarastro Blake's album is Steve Hackett's (there he is again!) old bandmate, Nick Magnus. His solo effort N'monix was perhaps my very favorite of the 2014 prog crop: a very varied and lively album with a strong, almost epic sense of the visual; some of the tracks could well be parts of a movie score. The Genesis connection is not hidden away but proudly present on some - but not all! - tracks, and the guest vocals by PG-soundalike Tony Patterson emphasise the family line. It's Nick's fifth solo album and unfortunataly the only one I've heard so far. Have to fix that asap...
My rating: 5 / 5

Moving far away from the 70's British prog heritage, we have the Dutch Schizoid Lloyd's fairly new debut full length album, The Last Note In God's Magnum Opus (they have to earlier EP's out). And, by God, this is one I'll return to many times before I'm through with it! The style is... well,
would "hallucinogenic operatic prog death metal" do? The first references that come to mind are Mr. Bungle and Unexpect - if you're familiar with those bands you'll know what I mean. The songs twist and turn and refuse to stand still; they feature sudden changes from prog stylings to near silence to full blast metal barrage, with a very proggish framework to keep it all together. There are even moments that echo the adventurous early Queen of 1973-75; at other times, there's a resemblance to the more grandiose pieces of Cradle of Filth. One listen will not be enough and I'm very certain we'll hear a lot more of these guys. They are extremely talented both as musicians and songwriters, so here's hoping their avant-garde prog metal will find its audience!
My tentative rating based on two listens: 4,5 / 5

Finally, I'll close this posting with something calm. Britain's The Unthanks have been around for over ten years and have eight (!) albums in their discography. Led by the Unthank sisters, Rachel and Becky, they are described in Wikipedia as an "English folk group known for their eclectic approach in combining traditional English folk, particularly Northumbrian folk music, with other musical genres." I have no idea what undiluted Northumbrian folk music sounds like but their latest album, Mount The Air, is absolutely magical and uncategorizable. It's mutated folk, mixed with dreamy layers of orchestral strings and jazzy brass and wind instruments, and it's totally magical. It's a wonder the whole album is as strong as it is because there are no great dynamic shifts; listening to it is like flowing down a long river that only takes long, unhurried turns here and there. A complete surprise out of the blue - and another band that requires some retrospective listening.
My rating: 4,5 / 5

Dazed #11: Camelias Garden, The Imagined Village, Fernwood, Luna Rossa, Narrow Pass, Minimum Vital

This latest batch of quality prog turned out to have a largely acoustic character which coincided nicely with the first hints of the coming spring here in Finland: increasing light, sun warming the air during the days, sounds of birds... My favorite time of the year :)

Camelias Garden from Rome was recommended in one of the many prog groups on Facebook, and I'm grateful whoever it was that gave the hint. You Have A Chance is a marvelous debut album that echoes Tull, Renaissance, early Genesis but adds a rich splash of the band's own Italian personality. It's one of the sunniest, airiest, most optimistic prog records I've heard and I truly hope this 2013 album will have a sequel soon.

My rating: 4,5 / 5

Recommended in Big Big Train's facebook group, Bending the Dark, the so far latest album from The Imagined Village, took me totally by surprise. The band's - well it's more a project, really - earlier efforts were a decent upgrading of British roots music, but this 2012 album goes way beyond that. Effortlessly mixing genres and cultures, the band switches from Irish laments to jazz-spiced electronica in no time and manages more than a few prog tricks here and there. It's a unique album that grows on you and its strong points easily outweigh the few less powerful moments.

My rating: 4 / 5

Fernwood are another British folk-based ensemble with prog leanings. I have so far only listended to their debut, Almeria, and must say I like it. It's nothing immensely memorable, but it's very good atmosphere music, with warmth and expressiveness aplenty; Anthony Phillips would be a natural reference point. The compositions could be more developed and detailed, but maybe the later albums have taken care of that already. As a debut, very promising indeed.

My rating: 3,5 / 5

The first Luna Rossa album, Sleeping Pills and Lullabies, was one of my favorites in 2013. So the expectations were high for the follow-up. My initial reaction to Secrets and Lies was slightly reserved; the immediate magnetism and drama of the debut seemed a little more downplayed and the music a little more ordinary. But the more I have listened, the more I like this. It's an intricate album that guards its soul a bit more than its predecessor did, but the effort is worth it. Recommended to anyone with appetite to innovative female auters along the lines of Kate B., Jane S., Joni M.... you know.
My rating: 4 / 5

Italy's Narrow Pass is one of the bands I have discovered when just browsing for new prog releases. Their latest sounded truly fabulous on first listen but I decided to go through their output from the beginning. Their debut, A Room of Fairy Queen's, from 2006, is more than solid. It's a nicely balanced whole that covers a musical ground that's half Steve Hackett and half something folkier and more acoustic. I enjoy this a lot and will report on their 2nd and 3rd albums in my next postings.

My rating; 4 / 5

Another continental band I discovered during the browsing session mentioned above was the French Minimum Vital who have been around for a fairly long time. I checked out a cd that has their first two albums, Envol Triangles / Les Saisons Marines, in one; those records date from 1985 and 1987, respectively. I believe they only represent the initial musical stage in a long evolution, and in a way they are dated, sounding very much like the 80's fusion oriented bands tended to sound. But there is definitely something original bubbling under the surface as well, and the overall impression is of a young band paying its debts to Brand X and Tull's instrumental pieces before moving on to find their own true voice. Not great but nice and, in retrospect, pretty interesting too. Will continue with their discography later.

My rating: 3 / 5

Dazed #8: RPWL's "Beyond" + "Wanted"

The German band RPWL has been one of my pet likes for a few years now. Originally a Pink Floyd tribute band, they quickly progressed into their own and already the first albums carry only traces of their Floydian past.

The title of their 2010 Best of... album is The Gentle Art of Music and that sums them up nicely. Capable of unleashing a wall of sound when they want, they have focused mainly on a rich, melodic style with a great sense of harmonic nuance - very much my kind of stuff :). I think they got better by the album, and 2008's The RPWL Experience, especially the special edition, was close to masterful. After that came the aforementioned compilation, and eventually the two latest albums, Beyond Man And Time (2012) and Wanted (2014) which together make up a story about existence, religion, repression and freedom of thought.

I was excited to finally sink my claws into the two-part story, but my initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. Beyond... kind of drifted by and Wanted seemed outright boring in places. But I'm happy to say Beyond... needed only a second listen to open up. It's a pretty muted, evenly paced album; even the guitar-driven single Unchain the Earth is a moderate rocker that pulses rather than bounces along. So a casual listening session is not necessarily the way to approach it. The music is carefully constructed, with hooks embedded beneath the surface. No baroque elaborations are there to immediately catch your ear, and I believe that's very much deliberate. It grows on you as you listen. The 16-minute epic The Fisherman is quite succesful and both the title track and the album closer The Noon are breathtakingly beautiful.

Having said that, Wanted still causes some problems for me. To my taste, there are too many plodding, off-the-production-line songs with mainstream guitar rock leanings, too much synth sequencing and some pretty unimaginative songwriting; the title track, for instance, does nothing for me. Not that there are no good moments. The album actually gets better towards the end and the majestic Misguided Thought may be among the band's all time best.

Summing up, I would have done a bit more editing and song selection and come up with one absolute killer of an 80-minute album. As things are, in my books Beyond... is very good and Wanted way too uneven but serviceable with its bright monents.

As a band, RPWL proudly continue their own path and I highly commend them for doing so. I will stay tuned for more...

Dazed #7: "Utopia" by Heart of Cygnus - some thoughts on the difference of paying tribute and mimicing others

Fandom to tribute to mimicry to plagiarism - where do we draw the lines?

I could not help but ask myself that question when listening to Utopia, the 2007 debut album by Heart of Cygnus. I have backtracked the band's catalogue, starting from 2012's The Voyage of Jonas, and I've noted that even though they still have recognizable Rush influences, the outright copying of certain Rush signatures is giving way to their own voice and sound. Which is very good for H.o.C., because their first offering practically mimics the early Rush sound and themes (ca. 1975-78) and, let's be honest, even the 2112 story, to such detail that I can only image what G., A. and N. would think if they heard this...

Now, there are no instances of outright copying on Utopia, except for the storyline and concept so obviously mirrored from 2112. Instead, the band seems to have decided to summon up and integrate the essence of vintage Rush into themselves, producing music that comes from an alternate universe where Rush decided to stick with the style they had in 1978 instead of moving on to explore other musical areas.

The result is almost spooky. The album begins with a Broon's Bane avatar and proceeds to guitar sounds and riffing straight from Caress... and 2112; likewise the drumming. The bass is less busy than Geddy's but the synths were probably stolen from his basement. The songs themselves overflow with familiar-sounding hooks and turns and we end up with a "ghost of a Rush", so to say. I have to admit I did enjoy the experience: these guys are obviously HUGE Rush fans and what they have done here has been commited in the spirit of fandom, I have no doubt about it.

But it can't be shrugged off that they have put on another band's clothes and gone for a walk in the city streets, probably hoping to be noticed. And that's where the questions begin. Why could they not just drop hints and references and give nods to their heroes in the songs, instead of creating this parallel reality? Couldn't they satisfy their addiction by playing Rush tribute gigs and then concentrated on honing their own material? And can adopting an entire style be called plagiarism even if no one particular song has been ripped off? I have no answers, neither will I ponder on this for hours - there are lawyers paid to do that. But I'm just wondering...

Also, it must be noted that on Utopia there are a couple of fantastic brianmay doppelgängers and amazingly pinkfloyd acoustic moments, so it's not just Rush whose DNA they can extract ;)

But finally: I do sympathize with these guys. They are fans themselves, they are skilled and respectable musicians, I have enjoyed their albums and wish them all the best... and hope they continue on their good journey to evolve into their very own selves before some lawyer comes knocking on their door.

Dazed #6: "Until Never", "Chain Reaction" and "EEFP"

What's prog? I sure has hell don't know, but an awful lot of different kinds of music are label "prog" even if the specimens have precious little in common with each other. Not that I mind - it's great to just hunt the web for new prog and end up with all these wildly different but equally brilliant bands and albums :)

Earlier this week I ended my Big Big Train marathon with their latest, the awesome aural twin towers known as English Electric, Full Power. It's an almost perfect set: no clunkers, precious little doodling around and a sense of a hazy English sunset enveloping the proceedings. There's also very little "hard prog" on the album; I'd call this Cinematic or Narrative Rock instead of prog. The way the pastoral and majestic blend with the rocking and modern is somehow utterly British; this music could not have come from any other place. There are the fleeting nods and audible influences, to Beatles, Genesis, Tull and XTC and some more esoteric predecessors: I swear I can hear Roy Wood's Wizzard's "Wear A Fast Gun" reflected in the awesome hymn-like brass arrangements of "Swan Hunter", one of the cornerstones of the album. Labels mean nothing - I just love this album.

* * * * *

Switching gears, I was delighted to discover the Israeli prog metal band Distorted Harmony had released their second album, Chain Reaction. The debut, Utopia, I thought was excellent, a very impressive entrance, way more colorful and adventurous than most prog metal. Therefore I may be just a teensy weensy bit... not disappointed but slightly "they could have jumped the tracks a bit more on this one." In a word, this is more mainstream in its genre that the debut was (like Haken's 2nd was to their 1st). But: in the genre, it shines. DH have such a sure command in what they do, it's just a pleasure. And if the final track, the 8-minute "Methylene Blue", is anything like an omen for things to come, I believe we are in for something really grand in a year or two.

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To close this chapter, I just have to recommend Lalle Larsson's fairly new album Until Never. I praised Lalle's earlier stuff some days ago (see Dazed #4), but this one is utterly different. The previous albums charted the prog waters from poetic Nordic melancholy to fiery Middle East -influenced almost-metal, in a grand style. They were band albums but this one features just Lalle, the bass guru Jonas Reingold and Richard Hallebeek on acoustic guitar. And no, this one is not prog at all, unless prog has become a generic word for anything that's not pop/rock by today's standards.

This is sparse, incredibly nuanced and glowing music. Jazzy, but not jazz. Melodic but uncompromising. Often heartbreaking but not saccharine. Quiet but not timid or flat. The only reference that comes to my mind are Pat Metheny's certain compositions and albums from the more romantic/elegiac end of his stylistic spectrum. Sunset music, songs for departures, solitary travellers and last calls. You know what it is, and it needs no labels. Go listen.

Dazed #5: Some ambivalent feelings - Transatlantic's "Kaleidoscope" and Ian Anderson's "Homo Erraticus"

I'm well aware that Transatlantic enjoys massive support among the prog community. I have nothing whatsoever against the band, but have always found them a little... insubstantial? The extremely long tracks flow along nicely and I like the overall sound, but there's little that has really caught my ear. For all their progginess, they seem content to stay within their comfort zone, somewhere between DT, FK and SB.

The same goes for their latest album Kaleidoscope I listened to a couple of days ago. The playing can't be criticized but again I find myself wishing for either more challenge and/or more outright hooks in the songwriting. Somehow I get this "it's all kinda same" feeling from this. It's nice and pleasurable enough for a prog fan, sure, but that final spark or exciting idea just isn't there for me. I'll probably put this and the other Transatlantic albums on when cleaning the house and doing the dishes, but focused listening... most likely not.

* * * * *

I'm just as ambivalent toward Ian Anderson's recent Homo Erraticus. I've played it through twice now, and it may benefit from further listening, but I slightly doubt it. The entire album is soooo very Jethro Tull from start to finish I believe the only reason why it's not a Tull album is the absence of any former Tull members. With a whole new set of players, Anderson has conjured forth the Tull sound so precisely I had to check the album credits to make sure it's not Martin Barre on guitar. Just goes to show how Tull probably never was a band in the true sense of the word.

Since the songs on Homo Erraticus cover Tull's stylistic heritage roughly between Minstrel and Catfish, I can't but judge the album on Tull criteria. Taken that way, this is a competent, solid album, a worthy continuation to the official Tull legacy. At the same time, though, I do feel a bit "...and then?" Maybe I was secretly hoping Mr. A would show new sides to him this time, since there is nothing to lose at this stage of an amazing career. But then again, why not let the perfect English gentleman do what he likes and can do best? Even if Homo Erraticus does not dazzle with originality and surprise, at least it comes with a human voice and sense of life well lived. In times like these, one should be grateful.