So, the opportunity to review an album from a new band. Not just a new band but one from Leeds, where I grew up. We’re a proud bunch us Yorkshire folk and we like to think whatever we do is quality. One look at their website shows they’re not a young bunch so I would expect them to carry some hefty experience in with their music.
They say their influences are from the 70’s and 80’s pioneers, should I worry? You see I was and still am a big fan of the music and bands of the Neo-Prog era and wary of this current trend for new bands emerging and trying to imitate 70’s/80’s sounds. A lot of it leaves me cold. Progressive music should be just that, not regressive. So Gentlemen you now have your work cut out to convince me, as fellow Yorkshiremen I expect great things.
So lads and lasses daft enough to read this, let me introduce to you This Winter Machine:
Mark Numan – Keyboards and Backing vocals
Marcus – Drums
Jevo – Guitars
Pete – Bass
Al – Vocals
A piano intro floats above a noisy crowd introducing us to The Man Who Never Was, and a lone mournful guitar with Marillion like keys drift in as the crowd disperse and the bass, drums and vocals complete the contemplative sound. Broken into four parts, ‘(i) Asleep’ shows a changed man reflecting on the mistakes of the person he was, before ‘(ii) Dreaming’ of the mistakes which have brought him down to his current state. At his lowest ebb he stands in the ‘(iii) Snow’ on the brink, when realisation dawns and he knows what he needs to do to try and shed the past. Now ‘(iv) Awake’, he sees where he went wrong, but ignoring the voices in his head, carries on.
You get caught in the endless merry go round that is life and not always on The Wheel you would like to ride. It can be a cold vicious circle quite bleak, leaving a chill in your soul from the introductory mournful guitar. The lyrics betraying the confusion and desperation of choices and temptation leading you down the wrong path in a driving riff and insistent rhythm, to search for something you may never find.
After the cold winter wind of the last two tracks, this starts sweetly with a guitar chord Lullabyand the sound of a happy young child playing only to be crushed by a doom laden synth sound and crying guitar as the pace picks up in this pleasant instrumental.
I’m sat writing this on a cold, damp rainy day but that is not the feeling I get from this album. Despite the despairing lyrics the cover of the album is more indicative of the mood, across a chilly snow laden scene but with an air of calm.
The loss in a relationship, holding on for a reconciliation that will never materialize After Tomorrow Comesin the wistful yearning of the melody and heartfelt words. Sometimes no matter how hard you want something it won’t happen.
Fifth and final track Fractured shows the excellent quality of the musicians as all are given chances to shine, with Marcus’ flailing drums especially to the fore and the pumping bass from Pete pulsating throughout. Al sings of fractured lives and yet we still go on ‘confused and undecided’ as the gang pick up the pace with the bubbling keys from Mark and a delicious final guitar solo from Jevo sees us out.
Only five tracks on this and leaves me wanting more. Yes they are derivative in places with comparisons from Marillion to IQ, Pendragon and every other band of this ilk, but it works. Their recent support of Magnum shows their worth.
All the band members are on their game and despite the emotional heft of the lyrics I found it most enjoyable, particularly the guitar solos. Though I hate to praise any member of a band more than the others, Jevo plays the sort of guitar I could listen to all day, echoing the likes of Steve Rothery, Mike Holmes and Nick Barrett and holding his own quite capably.
If a band is to wave the flag for a modern evolution of a Neo-Prog revival and raise the standard for the white rose of the independent state of Yorkshire and our beloved country, then let’s hand the banner to This Winter Machine and let them run with it. I for one would like to see what impressions they can leave in the deep snows of winter and carry them forward to a bright future. It could end up bright and we may need shades.
The album is available now, brighten up your winter and grab a copy, I intend to.
Welcome to Napier’s Bones’ fourth outing and they have decided to create their own mythology for this new album, ‘Alpha-Omega Man’.
A rare thing for me to quote biblical/religious texts but it’s appropriate
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
I have played and played this to get to the core of the meaning but I believe it has many levels for those willing to look. Gordon Midgely and Nathan Jon Tillet have, in the previous albums, looked at local and/or established mythology and drawn that their inspiration from that. Tregeagles Choice, which is referenced in the track Without Sentimentbeing an old legend form the south west.
This album appears to be the journey of the creation of a Messiah or Deity figure from its formation in some unseen mechanism attached to tubes and machines, comatose awaiting consciousness. This is essentially Awakening, the opening track. A being out of time and space cast adrift on the oceans of an empty void. The music is classic prog with Mellotron and guitar work and what sounds like analogue Moog synths. At 13 minutes long I could go down a black hole of paranoia and ‘End of Day’s’ language in massive volume here but I won’t, I promise.
The Messengers, a distant American News Anchor tells us of an all seeing, all knowing news service bringing harmony from discord, from Alpha to Omega. Heavy fuzzed bass and guitar with a mono synth is the insistent back drop. The voice of the creator in the void that our hero inhabits.
Leading Straight into Citizen, we finally hear the voice of the Alpha-Omega Man. The music makes you feel like you are travelling, a solid pressing bass line and massively distorted guitar solo of which John Lees or Andy Latimer would be proud. He surfaces slowly into the next track Hypno-Sapiens, a suitably ethereal track fitting its name and place.
You could take the concept of this album as that of a comatose man recovering from a near death experience, slowly lifting from the darkness. You could also take this as the second coming of the messiah from Judeo-Christian mythology, placed into a modern framing of St John’s Revelation.
I will not go track by track for the rest but, instead, I suggest you listen to them and seek your own meaning. I don’t want to spoil the ending either.
Musically I think that we have a definite ‘Napier’s Bones’ sound that makes them distinct from other bands and it is definitely one for the classic Prog fan. It is prog at its most ‘proggiest’, theatre, sci fi, mythology, death and deity all rolled into a musical epic. 3 tracks coming in over 11 minutes and a narrative that runs true from end to end. Yet, it is neither pretentious nor self indulgent, it is Gordon and Nathan pushing their musical boundaries out of the comfort zone of the previous albums to see where they can go musically.
Fans of The Tangent, Camel, Barclay James Harvest, Genesis, Big Big Train and their ilk will find something of worth here, but not in a plagiarist’s way.
Whilst most people who have read my reviews over the past 20 odd years for various places like the Classic Rock Society and here know I love me my prog, what you probably don’t realise, or hadn’t noticed was how much I love my folk music as well. I think it’s probably the yin to the yang, with the less is more emphasis that folk music has being as fulfilling as the intricate complexity of progressive releases.
David Elliott of Bad Elephant Music is also a massive folk, folk/rock music fan as well, and after the success of their reissue of Twice Bitten’s‘Late Cut’ album late 2015, there has been demand for the reissue of ‘Flightless’, Rog Patterson’s solo album originally released back in 1989 on vinyl.
So here it is, finally on CD and download, the original 6 tracks remastered and enhanced by three demo versions of tracks that would have appeared on the next album, had Rog actually recorded it!
When ‘Flightless’ was released Rog toured extensively, supporting such luminaries as Fairport Convention, Roy Harper and John Martyn amongst others, and it is into this arena that ‘Flightless’ nicely sits.
A solo album in the complete sense, where Rog plays guitar, basses, vocals and pretty much everything else, the 6 tracks on this album, are some mighty fine English folk prog, and the emphasis here is as much on the vocals as the music, as whilst Rog is an absolutely sublime guitarist (a touch of the Ant Phillips here, the Bert Jansch’s there) he is also an incredibly intelligent lyricist and observer. In fact both vocally and lyrically there is a shade of Bob Pegg about him, but I think that’s as much to do with the accent and attitude, as both men have a unique rather specific political world view, and this is reflected in the songs on here.
To a lot of people folk music is stereotyped as some twiddly nonsense with violins and Morris dancers, to those people who think that way I say ‘Poppycock’, folk music in its truest and strongest sense is the voice of the people, the voice of protest and the most potent form of politicised music possible, and like many others in that ilk, Rog uses this music to put across his concerns in a strong musical style.
From the opening An Englishman’s Home, with it’s well observed vocals and intricate guitar work from Rog, a pattern that will repeat throughout the album, it sets the tone for the rest of the album, and is the shortest track on the album.
Rogs acoustic prog roots show throughout the album, with Ergo Sum clocking in at 9 minutes plus has some of Rogs beautifully intricate guitar playing and strong lyrics railing against the Lords of the manor taking what they think is there right, the pounding bass and acoustic guitar drives the song along as Rogs passionate vocals weave in elements of Robin Hood, and rail against Mans stupidity in following the wrong leader (as apt now as it was then, maybe even more so) and as it builds, it draws you in and it astonishes me how a complex and intricate piece of music like this achieves its power by minimal instrumentation.
Party Piece has a wonderful cyclical riff, with some great lyrics about the human condition, Rogs observant lyrics reflecting the obsessions of youth, and, as is evident throughout the album, Rog is one of those vocalists who doesn’t just sing a song, he lives it, and the closing part has an element of Jethro Tull to it, which is no bad comparison, as both Rog and Ian Anderson have a keen eye for human observations.
Speak for Yourself has a funky riff and another politically astute lyric, suggesting that people think for themselves rather than following the pack.
Conclusions is another epic on the album, clocking in at over 7 minutes long, with it’s brilliant guitar work, and the way Rog manages to make the guitars and bass sound like a much larger band, is a great skill, and brings the most out of this fantastic track that has some fantastic acoustic and slide guitar work, with an almost classical feel, again reminiscent of the work of Ant Phillips, and another impassioned vocal, as Rog lives the song, and builds it to it’s epic conclusion.
Another great example of where less is more when it comes to instrumentation and production.
The original closing track Flightless, the 12 minutes title track, is, as Rog describes the musical interpretation of Becketts Knapps Last Tape, which is a song about itself basically, referencing how it came to be, and how Rog ended up where he ended up, again wrapped up in some of that wonderful guitar work and vocals, rounding the original album on a high.
The three bonus tracks (Alien, Couldn’t HappenHere & The Name Of The Rose) all showcase the way that Rog was intending to go if he’d managed to get his next solo album finished (a work rate that makes Tom Slatter look like Prince by comparison..) and are fantastic additions to the album, rounding out the work of this period.
This is a great-lost folk/prog/protest album that ticks all the right boxes musically and lyrically, well observed, well produced and an intelligent and emotive listen that will finally get the recognition it deserves.
It’s just a shame that nearly 30 years on from it’s release, the political and human concerns observed on here are still current, and still causes for concern today.
Formed in 2010 by former members of Drift Effect and Morning Society, Meridian Incident (comprised of Ray Smart, Marc Hedman-Dennis, Adam Schmid and Tom Trenka) is a progressive rock group with a longstanding history of playing together on some of the Twin Cities’ most prominent stages. With a sound reminicent of A Perfect Circle, Tool, Porcupine Tree and a touch of Pink Floyd, MI is a tour-de-force of compositional and technical artistry.
I first connected with Meridian Incident through the positive power of social media. The band had shared a sponsored video for the track Yellow Wings on Facebook and I had a listen and thought to myself that I’d heard something just a bit special. I contacted the band and then things went on from there with me receiving their new album ‘Istology’ for review.
A concept album about an intriguing hero or heroine that lives in all of us, the forthcoming ‘Istology’ is based on a screen play (written by Ray Smart) that tells the story of Janey, a girl tormented by abuse as a child who embarks on an unbeaten path of self-discovery. Subtly including iconic worldwide spiritual imagery, ‘Istology’ follows Janey through a journey plagued by shadows of self-destruction and loathing, to a place of understanding and acceptance of self. The album tells Janey’s story as she evolves through a remarkable transformation: learning to overcome, learning to love, and finally learning to trust.
So, a complex story then but would the music actually be any good? Read on and find out…
Opening track Scene 13 is very much a scene setter with its laid back and measured introduction that you feel is just building up to something much more imposing. Layers get added to increase the complexity and the vocals begin, weaving their story into your psyche. Ray has a really good voice, complex and full of meaning and uses it to great effect throughout the album. The tension builds more and more as the tempo increases slightly and Ray gets more passion and even a hint of menace in his voice. The song begins to open up with Adam’s powerful drums and Marc hits us with some intense guitar work, Tom’s bass driving the whole thing. A really intense musical workout to get your synapses sparking.
Title track Istology opens with 90’s grunge inspired riffing and drums before Ray channels his inner Eddie Vedder and we are treated to a really classy track with an abundance of energy and dynamism. I was a huge Pearl Jam fan back in the day and this song reminds me a lot of those times with the lighter calmer verses being accompanied by the heavier chorus and that really addictive riffing. There’s a nice break in the middle where Marc gets to show off his technique to the full before some punchy riffage gets us back on course. It’s like 90’s grunge brought bang up to date and, to my ears anyway, works extremely well.
Yellow Wings is the song that got me interested in this band in the first place, I love its heartfelt lyrics and Ray’s voice delivers perfectly. An ardent track that bleeds sincerity, especially on the fervent and moving chorus. There’s a staccato backbeat running throughout, delivered by guitar and drums to give the song and edgy feel at times before the emotionally poignant chorus delivers its knockout blow and Marc hits us with a solo utterly infused with pathos and sentiment. Listening to the track while I’m writing this review just brings back the goosebumps I felt on first listen, a truly powerful and emotive song typified by the expressive guitar and vocals.
Let’s take a more mellow and benign route with In The Wake Of My Own, a laid back and chilled song that still has a lot of meaning and poignance underneath the surface. There is wistful feel to the music and Ray’s vocal has sentimentality at the core. Think of hazy summer days and sepia tinged nostalgia, a superbly calming influence runs throughout this amiable track and as it comes to a close you feel like a weight has been lifted from your whole being.
The album segues straight into Along The Shore, an intricate drum-led introduction leaves a haunting impression on my mind, the distant voices and vibrating guitars give a persistant edginess and disturbed aura to everything. It’s a restless and uneasy instrumental that leaves questions in your mind.
Where the previous track left an uneasy feeling, When The Tide Carries The Lotus is an utterly relaxing three minutes of instrumental bliss. Piano led, it is like a gently flowing stream finding its own course through your mind. I felt a feeling of beatific serenity fall over me as each note played out and, as it faded out, I was left with a smile on my face and peace in my heart.
Hallowed opens with a subtle guitar tone and the continuously impressive drums leading the way. Ray’s earnest vocals have something of a hazy feel to them. The track continues to meander gently along, tranquil and somewhat bucolic, an elegant piece of music with lasting emotion at its centre. A more serious tone seeps in as the guitar is unleashed with more ferocity and Ray’s vocal soars to join it before Marc let’s loose a powerful, stirring solo that leads to an impassioned close.
Yellow Wings (Reprise) is a more circumspect version of the track, opening in a judicious manner with a staccato riff and Ray’s almost indistinct vocals. The pace is turned down a notch and the sentiment increased to give it a pared back yet stylish feel. The powerful emotion of the original is replaced with something more subtle and considerate without losing any of the intent. There’s a dynamic instrumental section which, though short, injects some authority into proceedings and Ray’s excellent vocal is present and correct as ever. A refined and suggestive version that stands comparison in its own right and I love the way it closes out.
A pensive and somber guitar opens The Mirror Stares Back and Ray’s ominous vocal joins in to give a quite oppressive solemness to the track. It creeps along in a reflective and preoccupied manner leaving you almost mesmerised with the suspense. A clever use of music to affect your mood and immerse you in the storyline. As the volume increases so does the apprehension and tension, almost becoming unbearable before the song comes to a close and the shackles are unlocked.
And we segue straight into the heavy riffing opening to Shadows, the Soothsayer. A quite hypnotic guitar and drums leave you in a trance like state as the short instrumental gets under your skin, insinuating itself into your very being. A high energy, almost manic close-out leaves you breathless.
Alternative and grunge combine to good effect on Echo In The Water. A low key opening very reminiscent of Porcupine Tree in the early days catches your attention with its subtle complexities. There is some great bass playing and the guitar and drums combine to lead the story on as Ray adds nuances to his vocal delivery. A perceptive and probing track that scores on many levels. There’s a great guitar solo full of meaning and significance and the song breaks out into a hard rocking finish that leaves you properly sated.
There’s no break before we rush headlong into Wind Through The Bodhi Leaves, a potently compelling two minutes that just blows you away as it increases in force and demeanour before blowing out like an almighty backdraft and leading in the composed and sedate Mer De Lumieres, the antithesis of the chaos that came before. It calms your fevered brow and lowers your heart rate before we come to the last track on the album.
Wistful and winsome, Diaspora, Under A Red Sky is a sea of calm serenity that just washes over your tortured soul. From the sublime guitars and gentle drums to Ray’s ethereal like vocals, it has an almost ghost-like and intangible feel, like something just out of reach, a musical mirage that teases you with its benign and soothing tranquility. Graceful music and vocals combine to deliver just under five minutes of music that restores and invigorates your very being.
‘Istology’ is a musical drama and journey that ebbs and flows over it’s sixty minutes to leave the listener completely sated. There’s a subtle intelligence at the core of this release and it is delivered by four musicians at the height of their powers. It should be taken in one complete listen to get the full experience and you will come out of the other end an altogether better and happier person for it.
I have been listening to more laid back, contemplative music recently and really enjoyed some great folk music as well but, every now and again, you need something to blow the cobwebs away.
An email came into Progradar Towers from my friend Matt Benton at Hold Tight PR…
“After a two year hiatus, Canadian melodic proggers Slyde are back with their new EP ‘Back Again’. Four tracks of intricate, contrapuntal technical prog-rock, the band’s new release is set to land on February 17. For fans of Haken, Coheed and Cambria, Rush, Dream Theater, etc, Slyde‘s music is driven by the clean vocals of frontman Nathan Da Silva and the powering keyboards of Sarah Westbrook; a beguiling fourpiece with an impressive return to form.”
Being a massive fan of Coheed and Cambria and Haken, that was enough to get me intrigued so I decided to delve into Slyde‘s new four track E.P. ‘Back Again’ and see whether the reality could live up to the promise.
A concept EP, ‘Back Again’ continues to explore the links between environmentalism and the wider world, with a sci-fi twist. Following 2011’s EP ‘Feed The Machine’, which discussed the cyclical pattern of civilization between ‘The Machine’ and ‘The Consciousness’, and 2012’s EP ‘New World Sympathy’, which tackled oil industry and the injustices of mining companies, the new EP ‘Back Again’ traces a similar theme. Lead track Fading centres on the idea of extraterrestrial beings observing Earth and its civilization, but drawing back, due to humanity’s violent and destructive nature. Similarly, the title track Back Againrevolves around the Pale Blue Dot concept and the beauty of our world, which is often overlooked and uncherished by society.
Making up the rest of the band are Alberto Campuzano (bass guitar & backing vocals) and Brendan Soares (drums & backing vocals).
Fading gives no warning and no chance to catch your breath, the riff-heavy opening bars break into tight, if manic, and convoluted keyboard and guitar section before Nathan’s vocals join in and, yes, they do sound a lot like an early Coheed & Cambria but, trust me on this, that is no bad thing. Superb musicianship is at the fore here, just listen to the incredibly intense and intricate short-lived solo that rears up, incandescent and fiery before leaving you with seared eardrums. At times it almost verges on speed metal, such is the breakneck pace but it always has that progressive sensibility at the core. A visceral but incredibly enjoyable listening experience.
A nice 80’s synth inspired intro opens Join The Parade, a track that adds a funky, jazz feeling vibe to the technical wizardry. I really like Nathan Da Silva’s vocal delivery, it has a really unique sound, quite high pitched, that really fits the music. The musicians have turned down the intensity from 10, but only maybe to 8, and the vibe is more relaxed but only like a Tiger is relaxed if you sedate it. Powerful and intense instrumental sections show that this Canadian four piece are ploughing a not inconsiderable furrow with this new E.P. and their prowess is undeniable but what takes it up another notch is the intelligent songwriting which is entirely evident on this impressive track.
A thunderously entertaining song, Divide hoves into view like some elemental behemoth with its forceful and energetic riffs and compelling drumbeats. Like the bastard offspring of a union between early Rush, Haken and Coheed & Cambria it consumes everything before it. The vocals are edgier and more authoritative and the brilliant interplay between keys and twin guitars on the solo in the middle of the track is genius. A track that is immediately accessible but has layers of intricacy, it really does demand repeated listens, just listen to the solemn piano led close out!
The title track is a much more subtle and cultured affair, almost mainstream in its delivery. Back Again is more complex than it would first appear. Insightful lyrics and Nathan’s wistful and contemplative vocal give it a nostalgic feel. The staccato, slightly offbeat rhythm is a nice touch and , as you get further into the song, the music begins to remind me of Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls but with a lot more complexity. This song has layers and layers of impressive multiplicity from the energetic drums to the refined bass playing and it is all held together by the notably imposing guitar playing and Nathan’s signature vocals. A really sophisticated and refined ending to the E.P.
Not just an epic heavy prog-fest, Slyde have delivered an intelligent and compelling 4-track E.P. that hints at much promise to come from this Canadian four piece. It’s on my i-pod for repeated listens and I can see it staying there for some time to come. ‘Back Again’ should be the catalyst that takes this impressive band on the next step to the recognition they truly deserve.
I feel like I am playing catch up here to be honest. ‘Do Not Disturb’ has been on my ‘to purchase’ list for a while but something always conspired to prevent me. I bought ‘Trisector’ the week it was released, like many in hope of a rebirth and a recharge of my passion for VDGG. I was disappointed, probably because expectation was too high, but I ashamedly did not rate it or give it the attention that VDGG’s music needs to have be appreciated.
Back to ‘Do Not Disturb’, though I have read other reviews of it long before I knew I was going to look at it from my critic’s perspective. I will try not to let the views of others seep into my piece but parallels will be drawn.
Messrs Hammill , Evans and Banton are past masters of Prog and Progression, ploughing their own furrow in a field of innovation and challenge. Peter Hammill famously being influential to the likes of Johnny Lydon and Fish, amongst others, in vocal style and lyrical content. They were the outsiders of the golden era of Prog even pushing the limits of rhythm and tone in an epic way.
The album comes out of the starting gate with a real shocker, Aloft, an ethereal and very open track that slowly bleeds into an urgent, intense examination of the avoidance of life by forever moving forward but never back. The fear that if you stop you will fall being the thematic key in this song, but fear not, the old intense rhythmic atonal VDGG kicks in from nowhere without missing a step, relieving any fear that they had given up on their identity.
Alfa Berlina comes straight from the past, Hugh Banton provides a silky Hammond backdrop that seems to speak of human frailty and what makes us human as a condition of the sum of our memories. I say seem as I am trying to interpret the lyrical content and I hesitate to second guess these guys. This is actually a sing-a-long VDGG with a discernible hook. A late 60s Psychedelia straight from the UFO club complete with oil slides, or maybe that’s just in my head?
Forever Falling is incredibly accessible with a chugging guitar riff carrying you along that could easily fit into an 80s King Crimson or Talking Heads bandwidth. It works because it’s not impersonation, it’s pure VDGG running with an idea to see what happens.
(Oh No! I must have said) Yes, What can I say about this track? It’s a high point and stood out on the first play through. This is classic VDGG and stands next to the classic tracks of old. I ask how the hell do you write the organised chaos and drag it back through a jazz feel and back through entropy to tease the listener? It has been mooted that this is an exercise in Evans et al doing a VDGG history through one song but I kind of hope that it’s more like they found a groove and followed it to its natural end.
Go, the closing track, is the guys going down the route of old school Krautrock and putting a different spin on it. It’s all atmosphere with a stillness all its own.
The album has tonnes of light and shade and isn’t mired in the past or shackled by it. It has very tight production and, as you would expect, the musicianship is off the chart. I don’t think I heard a bar of 4/4 rhythm from Guy Evans or, conversely, any contrived attempts to be clever. It crosses genres from jazz to progressive and onto electronic.
If this is the end of studio music for Van Der Graaf Generator,as has been inferred by the band, then it is a fitting album to end on. Unlucky thirteenth studio album? Well I don’t think so at all.
Orenda n. [aw-ren-duh]
1. A supernatural force believed by the Iroquois Indians to be present, in varying degrees, in all objects or persons, and to be the spiritual force by which human accomplishment is attained or accounted for.
“A dormant potential to create exists within all human beings. It unconsciously binds the species at large. Most people just never unlock it. With Our Arms To The Sun examine that precious and potent power on their 2016 full-length concept album, ‘Orenda’. Painting in hues of rock, alternative, and metal, their cinematic sound blankets a curious canvas of Arizona Desert, weaving together a sonic journey to self-actualization for the quartet – Josh Breckenridge (vocals, guitar), Joseph Leary (guitar, programming), Joseph Breckenridge (bass), and John McLucas (drums).”
“Orenda is that hidden power inside all of us,” says Josh. “The character in the album is discovering it. You can’t really transcend your own ego, shadow, or bullshit unless you make a connection with what whatever that obstacle is inside of you, eliminate it, and move past it. That’s what the new music is about.”
One of the great joys of writing about music is following an artist from their early beginnings, fumbling around, learning how to make their music better and more involving and seeing how they progress album on album.
I get a real buzz and satisfaction from seeing some of these artists mature into incredibly talented bands and individuals who create some of the most impressive music to be heard today.
One such band is Arizona’s With Our Arms To The Sun, a quartet who create cinematic experimental music from the middle of nowhere in the Arizona desert. I have been a long time fan and supporter from their first album and have become friends with main man and guitarist Josh Breckenridge, enabling me to get early previews of any new music.
In early 2016, the group retreated to Los Angeles with a batch of demos and began pre-production on what would become ‘Orenda’ with legendary the Melvins founder Buzz Osborne. Josh and his bandmates holed up in a rental house “in the middle of nowhere Arizona” to track the music. They emerged with the 10 songs the comprise the new album.
This powerful band create epic soundscapes through the use of instrumental music but new album ‘Orenda’ sees them take a step into the unknown by adding vocals to the music. Could this be a step too far from what they have become known for or a logical evolution that sees them move to the next level of their career?
The opening track Disdain – Why I Am opens with a suspenseful gusting of wind before a humoungous riff crashes the party and blows any cobwebs from your psyche. Joshes anguished screams outlines the protagonists frustration. There is a real torment in the earnest vocal that follows, punctuated by that ever present riff, big enough to move mountains. The clever touch is the way the whole song just puts the breaks on with some really chilled out, mystical feeling guitar and bass, almost meditative in its delivery. There is a real feeling that this band made the step up to the big leagues with the quality of this song and, for a man who is no fan of growling vocals, I feel they add rather than distract to the whole experience. A pretty impressive opening it must be said.
A quite eerie guitar opens Memory – The Drift and the vocals have a dreamlike quality to them as they gently tread on your mental synapses and lull you into a quiet sense of security. It doesn’t last long as another riff hewn from solid granite blows away the mirage with its intensity. The vocals are more like a rhythmic chanting and give an aura of native mysticism to the song before a raw scream emerges from the depths. The track rolls along like an unstoppable force of nature, punctuated by periods of calm and reflection, allowing you to get your breath back. The vocals begin again, ardent and impassioned, backed by the incredibly powerful rhythm section and the arcane blasts of Josh’s intense guitar work, incredibly compelling music that demands your attention.
After the huge walls of sound that comprised the first two tracks, the mellow and reflective tones of Doorway to Clarity are a complete contrast, like a two minute break to get yourself together and contemplate how much the band have grown and developed with their new sound. It is deliberately thoughtful and a really chilled out piece of music.
First track released from the album Macrocosm – Prometheus relates to the character realising that he’s a piece of something bigger. It opens with a laid back feel as it begins to build. The guitar is expressive in its minimalism, an impression of a wide open space is conveyed by the vocals and music, an infinite blackness punctuated only by the stars. Hold that thought as the guitar takes on a harder, aggressive edge and the vocals become more like a chant, the hypnotic effect of the guitar takes over your mind and you begin to lose yourself in the vagaries of the intricate music. This is quite a demonstrative song, there is meaning and subtle definition in the music and it builds into a really brilliant song that leaves you nodding your head in appreciation. I especially like the way the song settles and closes out with the understated guitar at the core.
(Picture credit Melina Dellamarggio)
There is a real pathos and wistful note to Doorway to Realization, an emotive track and another two minute hiatus of composure. It has touch of 80’s electronica to my mind with the elegantly haunting piano that echoes in your mind, backed by Josh’s stirring vocals.
Considered and deliberate, Apex – 100 Year Dream opens at a leisurely pace. The vocals are low down and full of meaning before that immediately recognisable guitar sound takes over with another sonic powerhouse of a riff. I’ve tried to stay away from the ‘T’ word with this review but I really do get the feeling that these guys are channelling their inner Tool on this album and I say that because I honestly believe that they deserve comparison with bands of that calibre. The incredibly intense instrumental section that follows really does blow your mind and Josh’s vocals take on an angry edge. The elaborate and sophisticated music moves between the all encompassing dark heavy parts and the freedom of the lighter sections to create something totally immersive.
A native chant opens The War – Light The Shadows and leaves you feeling like you are in the middle of a sci-fi movie. There is a subtle build up as the song progresses, the hushed vocals combining with the understated music to create an air of mystery. This erupts into an authoritarian mantra with a potent riff driving it on. The music stops and the dominant chant continues to great effect before the all-powerful music takes over, the drums a particular highlight. This is a commanding and influential track that really delivers on the promise and just takes a step back into calmness and composure to close out stylishly.
The third quiet oasis ‘doorway’ is Doorway to Ascension a delicate instrumental that overlays spoken word to leave you ruminating on the whole theory of existence and life, the universe and everything in an introspective fashion.
Regret – Sailing Stones at the start is like an oasis of serenity and calmness, gentle guitars, subtle drums and Josh’s softly delivered vocal but it is only temporary before it erupts into a dynamic track full of raw aggression, screaming guitars and belligerent vocals as if the weight of the world is on its back. These two polar opposites survive in a musical world of juxtaposition challenging you to take sides in an urgent conflict. Another imposing song that feels like a force of eternal nature.
And so it comes to an end, the closing song Homebound – March of the Trees has an aura of finality to it, the conclusion to a journey of self-discovery and one that we have been privileged to bear witness to. Once again, a low key opening belies what is to follow, the forces of nature lead in an evolving guitar note that has an edge of suspense to it, only added to by the measured drumbeat. Josh’s chanting vocal has a world weary feel to it before it becomes an anguished cry full of a pensive melancholy. The whole track opens up into a huge panorama of sound occasionally allowing itself to become pared back before the pained aggression returns. This terrific sonic assault on the senses eventually closes out leaving you open mouthed and numb.
This is heavy and experimental progressive music from artists who are nearing the height of there already impressive powers. They create songs that ebb and flow between the intensely dark and the incredibly light and it is utterly addictive. With Our Arms To The Sun are an elemental force of musical nature, unstoppable in its voracity and deserve to be mixing it with the big boys and, on the strength of this incredibly impressive new release, they will be supping at the top table very soon!
Due to be released April 2017
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I have to say this is the first band I have ever reviewed from New Zealand, with an intriguing name.
I had no preconceptions as I have not heard of Mice On Stilts previously so how would ‘Hope for a Mourning’ fare in my ears, will it stand above the general masses or will it wobble precariously and fall from the heights? What type of music will this six man collective from Auckland who have been together just over 4 years I believe, have to offer, the tags on their site seem to cover a varied scope of genres.
They line up as:
Guy Harrison – Piano/Trumpet
Tim Burrows – Bass/Producer
Rob Sanders – Drums
Sam Loveridge – Violin/Guitar
Charlie Isdale – Violin/Sax
Benjamin Morley – Guitars / Vocal
I have a healthy taste for sweet melancholia when the mood takes, as some of you may have deduced from previous reviews I have written for Progradar. I don’t usually find it depressing, on the contrary I can find it quite melodic, relaxing and sometimes uplifting. A release from the hustle and bustle of the working day as you drift on swathes of laid-back sometimes cheerless vocals partnering sombre echoing tunes, tenaciously resisting any temptation to increase tempo greatly and a master-class in masochistic restraint.
The haunting piano from Guy Harrison, ghost like around our aural receptors as mist across the grass, brushes the blades of our consciousness on first track Khandahlla, which just happens to be the name of a suburb of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, located on hills overlooking Wellington Harbour. Its named after Khandela, which is in India and one of it’s meanings is ‘The resting place of God’, among a few other interpretations. Benjamin Morely’s plaintive vocals cling refreshingly to your skin. He has described this as “a happy song about happy things” and the swirling wisps of the other instruments and uplifting choir leave you wistfully cheerful.
Orca drifts through the waves of deviation, lapping at the shores of your mind as the first chorus leads to changes in style and an ambient passage floats out to return to the ripples of the chorus once more, only to lethargically swim away on an instrumental tide.
Acoustic guitar takes the fore on The Hours to carry the harmonising vocals on a bed of lighter piano keys in one of the less complicated tracks, with an ear-worm chorus.
There’s a darker tone to the jazz style piano on And We Saw His Needs Through The Casketgiving this track an eerie feel. The haunting vocals from the choir hang in the misty air as the guitar drifting through the damp avenues of this track unnervingly permeate your ears.
The spectral feel flows into Yhwh turning more wistful before heavier guitars and instrumentation crash in like a monster from the fog only to disappear just as suddenly, leaving sparse jittery sounds and solo guitar before it dramatically lurches back into view, roaring foetid notes in your face before swamping you and carrying you away into the darkness.
Calm returns in waves of piano and male/female duetting interspersed with Guy’s Trumpet on title track, Hope For A Mourning, seguing into a sober instrumental passage for the second half of the track.
I have to say the rhythm section from Tim and Rob add a gently disturbing current on which the rest of the instruments ride most ably, like a ferryman taking passage across an expanse of murky water, serenaded on parts of the journey by the violins and sax from Sam and Charlie.
Plucked acoustic guitar leads you to theFuneraland Benjamin’s stark, emotionally melancholic lyrics on what is probably the saddest song here, as the rest of the band’s mournful cortège pick up the harrowing procession.
It’s easy to feel the music at times is quite sparse, until you listen intently to discover the complexity of the darkly rapturous arrangements. Both vocals and instruments flit like brief visions at times, in a hall of despondently melodious mirrors, no more so than on the final song, Monarch. Saxophone slips between violins like serpents as they slither across the bleak body of this track in a chilling rapture of blackened souls.
You have to like this type of music, with scents of Nick Cave, Radiohead and the recently discovered Down The river Dead Men Go brought to mind. But if you do it is a beautiful melancholy in which to wallow and bide a little while, which I feel will stand the test of time.
“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”
― Steve Jobs
“The most complicated skill is to be simple.”
― Dejan Stojanovic
Imagine, if you will, a school of excellence for the mixing, mastering and production of music, Progwarts for the progressive music world maybe? (I’ll get my coat eh?), where engineers like the renowned Rob Aubrey, the revered Steven Wilson and the talented Daniel Bowles learned the dark arts and black magic that is stock in trade for such an establishment. I haven’t got a clue how they take the raw elements of music and wondrously turn them into the refined and polished product that us end users get to hear.
However, there is such a thing as an over-engineered piece of music and one where the engineer and/or recording artists just can’t help having that final tinker around to produce something with an almost unnatural sound.
So, taking things a step further, what if former star pupil John Bassett turned his back on the venerated establishment and went on a perilous journey into the deep, dark wilds of Ireland and recorded in a derelict Byre in County Sligo on December 29th 2016? Recorded in one take with three microphones, one for vocals, one for guitar and one for ambient sounds such as the birds nesting in the roof, the wind outside and the door continually creaking.
Well, you’d have ‘Live From The Byre’, the latest solo E.P. from this well respected English multi-instrumentalist and producer. It follows 2014’s full length ‘Unearth’ and the ‘Aperture’ E.P. released last year.
(Picture credit Tamsin Bassett)
The songs featured on this back-to-basics, pared back recording are:
1. Unearth (from John Bassett“Unearth”)
2. Nothing Sacred (from John Bassett“Unearth”)
3. Murder in a Small Town (from KingBathmat“Blue Sea, Black Heart”)
4. Brand New Crucifix (this song is about 20 years old and I don’t think its ever been available anywhere?)
John had this to say his latest recording:
“I hope you enjoy this release, I’ve always wanted to create something that has an intimate atmosphere and was created spontaneously, and this certainly wasn’t what I had planned on doing.”
Unearth opens with a really moody feel, subdued guitar and John’s hesitant, pared back vocal to give a really intimate atmosphere to the song. I can imagine myself in the byre listening to this earnest musician recording this track live. It may be a simple set up but that doesn’t mean you get less from the music. There are plenty of nuances and empty spaces for the sound to fill. It is almost edge-of-seat stuff, quite intense in the way it leaves you nervously apprehensive as the guitar builds up to quite a powerful close to the song. A dynamic track that proves less can always be more…
There is a jaunty repose to the opening of Nothing Sacred as the guitar strums along nicely and the vocals have a halting edge to them. The song builds up to the chorus, the guitar increasing pace and John’s voice becoming more influential. I listened to this song with headphones on for the first time and I really got the impression of being in an intimate acoustic gig in some small basement club somewhere, time and life forgotten in the moment. That is the essence of this E.P., it is music you can lose yourself in and gets right to the basics of why we listen to it in the first place.
Murder In A Small Town takes on a more melancholy note, a wistful sorrow in the vocals and the delicate guitar tone. This is a tale of sorrow and woe and has that almost pensive folk like feel to it. Stories from the backwoods brought to life by the brilliant musician in front of you. To my ears, the most pared back of all four of the songs and yet there is a real substance to it as John gives his heart and soul to the music. It is quite spellbinding in its own way and left me transfixed as it came to its sombre close.
There is a touch of old style 50’s Rock & Roll at the heart of Brand New Crucifix with the subdued guitar playing and its really deep resonance and John’s stylishly restrained vocal delivery. This could have been a Johnny Cash song in his heyday and it really resonates with its restrained and controlled feeling of fury. There is an increase in tempo towards the end, an intense and turbulent finish to the song that leaves you almost breathless.
Now I’ve been a fan of John Bassett through KingBathmat,Arcade Messiah and all his solo work and his incredible ‘Wall Of Sound’ has always blown me away but here he really shows that you can strip things all the way back to basics and deliver music that is true to his heart and soul and has a purity that you just won’t find anywhere else. Everybody should listen to this E.P. at least once and remember what music really is all about, this is a Brexit that actually did work.
“Look around you. Everything changes. Everything on this earth is in a continuous state of evolving, refining, improving, adapting, enhancing…changing. You were not put on this earth to remain stagnant.”
― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
Yes, everything changes but, in music, sometimes that change either takes what seems like a lifetime or never happens at all. Some of the more established acts could be said to have congealed into their final selves. To be fair, they can often still produce great music but you always know what to expect and that means no more surprises and I for one like a few surprises in my musical journeys.
Tim Bowness has admitted to me himself that he does have a signature sound and it is one that can be heard as the foundation on his previous three solo releases ‘My Hotel Year’ (2004), ‘Abandoned Dancehall Dreams’ (2014) and 2015’s ‘Stupid Things That Mean The World’. 2017 sees him return with a new album, ‘Lost In The Ghost Light’, and a new approach.
Here’s Tim’s thoughts:
“This new album, in some ways, it is quite a departure. There are lots of flutes on it and due to the nature of ‘the concept’, it’s definitely the most traditionally Progressive album I’ve made. It was very much a labour of love and like you say, it ‘felt’like a Tim Bowness album while taking the music into some uncharted places (for me).”
‘Lost In The Ghost Light’ is a concept album revolving around the onstage and backstage reflections of a fictional ‘classic’ Rock musician in the twilight of his career. It is a grand statement about a grand era of music making and an undoubted highlight of Bowness’s career.
Lyrically, the album addresses how the era of streaming and ageing audiences affects creativity, how a life devoted to music impacts on real / family life, and how idealistic beginnings can become compromised by complacency and the fear of being replaced by younger, more vital artists.
Though firmly focused on Bowness’s distinctive voice and musical approach, the album also draws inspiration from the period the concept covers and contains a notable 1970s Symphonic/Progressive Rock influence.
Mixed and mastered by Bowness’s No-Man partner Steven Wilson, ‘Lost In The Ghost Light’ uses a core band comprising Stephen Bennett, Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree), Bruce Soord (The Pineapple Thief), Hux Nettermalm (Paatos) and Andrew Booker (Sanguine Hum), as well as guests including Kit Watkins (Happy The Man/Camel), Steve Bingham (No-Man) and the legendary Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull). Andrew Keeling (Robert Fripp/Hilliard Ensemble/Evelyn Glennie) arranges for string quartet and flute on three of the album’s
songs.
Jarrod Gosling (I Monster / Cobalt Chapel) provides the fantastically detailed artwork, which includes a visual history of the career of the concept’s subject. Mixed and mastered by Steven Wilson, the special cd/dvd edition also features a 5.1 mix by Bruce Soord.
Tim certainly knows how to start things off with a bang. Opener Worlds Of Yesterday is hypnotic, immersive and mesmerising from the first note, a song that draws you into its soporific embrace to deliver its undoubted charms. The gentle background music has a plaintive guitar note overlaid before Tim’s distinctive vocals begin. His voice is calming and spell-binding at the same time and the beautiful strings that back the chorus work in perfect harmony. The music is full of refined grace and yet the probing guitar that you can hear throughout gives it a questing edge as well. The sedate, ambling keyboards are a delight and the flute just adds another layer of undoubted class, You just have to listen to the run out of this elegant track, it is a brilliant way to close out a song. One for late nights, lights turned down low and something full bodied and red to drink…
Moonshot Manchild opens with a laconic feel, typical Tim Bowness, all laid back vocals and subdued music that gets under your skin in an addictive fashion. There’s a subtle incisiveness running underneath though as the mellow and unhurried music washer over you. Classic 70’s keyboards give a real feeling of wistful nostalgia and a melancholy undertone to the ongoing tale. Tim’s voice has never sounded so good and he really has one of the most serenely relaxed vocal deliveries around. There’s a great keyboard interlude in the middle of the track, pensive and thoughtful asking you to reflect for a moment before the song blossoms out again with a wonderfully carefree and composed instrumental section. Once again we are treated to another impressive lead out, something that seems to be coming stock in trade for this great musician, it ebbs and flows brilliantly, demanding you follow it right to the end of the musical journey.
Wow! The next track is a real departure for Tim. All full of angst and pent up rage, Kill The Pain That’s Killing You opens with frantic drum beat and a caustic guitar riff. There’s a real nervous energy about this song, a pleading uneasiness that has a real catchy note to it. Tim’s vocal seems more direct and urgent and that acerbic guitar note really does make you sit up and take notice. The staccato chorus only adds to the offbeat tone, this is something very different and enjoyably so and, coming in at under four minutes, this frenetic song never outstays its welcome.
After that unexpected but thoroughly enjoyable onslaught,Nowhere Good To Go sees us return to the refined, simple grace of the first two tracks but there is definitely something evolved about Tim’s sound on this album. Soothing and tranquil, the music seems to lull you into a becalmed state and then open up into something just a little different with the dulcet tones of a Hammond organ combining with the strings to add subtle sophistication to what is already quite an imposing sound. Again the vocals are delivered with silken finesse and the ethereal flute adds a winsome feeling to this lissome song.
There is one of the best openings to any recent progressive song on You’ll Be The Silence. All pastoral with a lovely piano sound and the delicate heavenly flute, it really did impress me on first listen and left me transfixed with its rarefied quality. Tim’s voice has a little catch to it, an almost sentimental regret at the heart of it and it gives the song a dreamlike atmosphere when combined with the simple charms of the wistful music. The longest track on the album at nine minutes long, you are enraptured throughout this unapologetically sentimental and yet slightly rueful piece of music. You have to take the time to listen to this song (and, indeed, the whole album) with a decent pair of headphones on and just become immersed in its spellbinding orchestral reverence. Music as good as this can take you to a place of calm reflection, where the world cannot harm you and everyone needs that now and again, an utterly captivating song that ends every bit as brilliantly as it begins, the guitar and flute leading you on a seductive voyage home…
Lost In The Ghost Light is quite a dark interlude with a menacing undertone. Tim delivers his vocal in a spoken word fashion and that adds even more suspense and uncertainty. The music is atmospheric and bleeds tension directly into your system.
That slight feeling of doubt can be felt at the start of You Wanted To Be Seen and adds to a cautionary tone to deliver a deliberately pensive and sombre tone to the song. Tim’s vocal is thoughtful and sad and the music has a plaintive and pensive edge to it. The violin that can be heard in the background is a fine touch and adds a longing, surreal edge to the track before things change tack with a restless and skittish air that adds tension and a disquieting unease. Another great song that has an imposing end with some great guitar playing.
Onto the final track of the album, Distant Summers, a mournful violin opens this mellow and cultured song and imbues it with a really plaintive plea for days gone by, Sepia tinged nostalgia drips from every wistful note and the exquisite flute playing is tempered by a trite ennui. The vocals have a touch of anguish at the core of them and the whole song has a fragile dignity deep at its core, one that is made up of beauty and remorse in equal quantities. Despite the forlorn mood that runs throughout the song, I still feel that there is hope emanating from Tim’s expressive voice and that is the overriding feeling that I will take away with me.
I’ve always been a fan of Tim Bowness and this new album has only exacerbated that. He has added something different and distinct to his music to evolve and progress it to something that, while recognisable as his work, has seen him mature into one of the best and most involving progressive artists that we have. There are added layers and nuances that just lift this album above similar fare on offer at the moment and I can see this being on my playlist for a long time to come.
