Reviews – Page 77

Review – The Far Meadow – Given The Impossible – by Gary Morley

A challenge from the wallet emptier…

I’m to listen to a new release on Naughty Pachyderm’s imprint, write a review and post it off all before David “The Progmeister” Elliot realises I’ve been listening through the keyhole of his prog vault.

So I sneaked into Elephant HQ, snuck under the wallet emptier’s detection wet string and tin can alarm system, negotiated Tom Slatter’s tentacle armour, carelessly strewn about the floor. Through a door located beneath the might piles of CD’s awaiting re-homing, I step into a bright and sunny place, the Far Meadows.

And that folks is where our story really begins.

The press release for The Far Meadow’s ‘Given The Impossible’ helpfully tells me that the members of this band were in other bands before. The band claim to enjoy leek knotting, Icicle archery and banana pushing. I may have snatched a look at the unfinished article as banana pushing? Seems a bit farfetched to this progboy, but I’m here to listen to the noise they make, not comment on what they do when not making noise.

So , The Far Meadow – First impressions are that it’s a refined, gentle place where musicians meet to construct songs with verses and choruses, middles, beginnings and ends. They construct them in the traditional manner, with some lovely keyboard, flute and guitar flourishes between them.

The singer has a very pure soprano voice, all crystal and fine wine, whereas I’m more partial to an earthy red wine in an odd glass voice. But this voice is all pure elven tones, a departure from my preferred dwarvish blues gravel throat singers that have lived a full life . If you play the “sound like” game, then it’s more Juliette Reagan than Marianne Faithfull, more Christina Booth than Beth Hart. But it works.

Marguerita Alexandrou has a nice tone, a clear and unfaltering delivery and an interesting quality to her inflection that gives extra character to the material. The high notes are dealt with in her stride without any of that ghastly X factor wobble that seems to be used to stretch every utterance into a poly syllabic outburst.

Here we have a singer in tune, on the beat and singing that compliments the band behind her. That’s another good thing. The album sounds like the entire band were involved with the final mix.

As the Elephant team were kind enough to supply lyrics, I can finally do a proper grown up review and tell you that on this album, you learn about Wedding day nerves, Cracking the Enigma code, the facile nature of ambition, overcoming fear, a warning that technology cannot replace real engineers and more. OR I’ve misread the whole pile and it is actually a concept album about pan dimensional celestial flying nymphs… again.

So, modern themes for a modern Prog band to sing about. And they do sing. And they play. And they harmonise. And put in excellent little instrumental flourishes.

The songs sound like they are fully formed, not a collection of ideas and clever twiddly bits bolted together. As with all bands, the tipping point for me is would I enjoy them live?

The answer to this is YES.

I want to hear the dynamic shift and synth solo in the middle of Dinosaurs performed through a concert P.A. The Guitar solo after it will be a foot on monitor moment, adulation from the crowd driving the guitarist on through the solo. The keyboard and guitar parts are crying out for dry ice, big lights and a frenzied crowd…

Himalaya Flashmob cracks on , a rocky little ensemble after the Prog work out in Dinosaurs.

Lots of angular guitar riffs and angst filled vocals to start off, this is “The Epic” on the CD, a treatise on the vapid rewards of overachievement, A thoroughly modern disease, the overachiever’s bucket list route to enlightenment.

The track blasts off into It Bites land with some more great keyboard: guitar interplay before breaking through the clouds to a peaceful single guitar then instruments and ethereal voices paint the picture of the climbing of a mountain.

The protagonist seeks fulfilment through overachievement, joins the queue for the top, gets a wake up shot as finally they realise just how small they are, ego or no ego.

Do they learn from this? See the error of their ways and return a better person? The story is left at the point of enlightenment for us to decide. Not a cliff hanger, although, stuck at the top of a mountain struck by a sense of your own insignificance could be said to be the ultimate cliff hanger!

There is some great instrumental prowess here, but no sense of grandstanding. The music flows around you as you drift off in an enlightened cloud of Prog bliss. The final track, The Seamless Shirt starts all rock guitar and thundering drums, with a Zappa / Miles Davis Electric band vibe, the drumming is metallic rather than metal, then suddenly switches to a folk staple, not the first time this particular song has been shoehorned into an alien landscape .

The Stone Roses co-opted it on their debut album. Some pair of American folk singers adopted it too, back in the pre- streaming era.

Scarborough Fair gets dragged into the middle of this song, twisted to fit the narrative, we then flip back to the funky percussive tale of broken trust and dashed hope. a relationship in the making and unmaking of the shirt.

Again we get a guitar solo, this time , as I mentioned Frank, this references Steve Vai, with a lovely lyrical solo, the final instrumental section is a beautiful piano and drum piece, very Herbie Hancock in tone that stretches and bridges to the final verse.

Then, all too soon it’s over. 45 minutes of musical delights that is more progressive, more dextrous and more interesting than I deserved. Another fine wallet emptying collection for the ever expanding Bad Elephant stable. I really need to negotiate a discount as this reviewing is getting expensive.

I know I am lucky to get he pre-release mp3, but nothing beats the delight of owning the actual finished product. Be it vinyl or CD, it’s a thing of solidity in a fluid world.

‘Given The Impossible’ is that too, and like a good curry , it matures with time. I’ve listened constantly now for 4 or 5 plays. There are nuances and passages of beauty that my ears are enjoying navigating along. The more I listen the more it connects in my head to It Bites and Francis Dunnery’s lyrical guitar parts .

The naughty pachyderm has done it again, an excellent release.

Released 4th November 2016

Buy ‘Given The Impossible’ from Bad Elephant Music on bandcamp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDnuyvfDsxc

Review – Blind Ego – Liquid – By Rob Fisher

I first came across Blind Ego courtesy of having originally discovered the delights of ‘World Through My Eyes (2005)’ by German based band RPWL. In the process of discovering more about them it emerged that lead guitarist Kalle Wallner was also running a solo project by the name of Blind Ego who, by pure coincidence, had just released a second album entitled ‘Numb (2007)’.

My interest was piqued by the superb musicians he had assembled to play with him. Paul Wrightson (ex Arena, replacing John Mitchell who sang on the first album), John Jowitt (ex IQ and Arena), Michael Schwager (ex Dreamscape) and Yogi Lang (fellow RPWL band member), with guest appearances by Sebastian Harnack (Sylvan) and Iggor Cavalera (Sepultura, Mix Hell).

Listening to ‘Numb’ was – and whenever I play it, still is – a happy revelation. Honest, fresh, atmospheric, it is full of punch and packed with energy and inventiveness. There is a steely drive and an exciting raw emotional power which resonates at all levels across the album. The intensity and the ever shifting flow of our emotions becomes the elemental force which powers and gives meaning to the music.

Wallner believes ‘Numb’ is all about the intensity of emotions, “snapshots of extreme feelings flooding one’s consciousness for a short time, siegeing the mind and letting nothing else reside next to them.” He emphasises this by using only one word for the title of each track: Lost, Guilt, Numb, Leave, Death, Change, Seek, Risk, Torn, Vow, Change. The music perfectly mirrors and captures this rollercoaster of emotions through solid rock-style drumming, crunching power riffing, all interspersed with acoustic arrangements and melodic solos which captivate and surprise.

It has been a long seven years since then and I’ll confess that news of a third studio album from the Blind Ego stable certainly put me in a state of agitated excitement. Wallner’s choice to lead with another single word title, ‘Liquid’, certainly seems to signal a clear intention to carry on where the previous album left off.

The musicians he has gathered around him this time are equally impressive. Vocals are shared between Arno Menses (Subsignal), Erik Ez Blomkvist (Seven Thorns) and Aaron Brooks (Simeone Soul Charger), whilst the always impressive Sebastian Harnack (Sylvan) returns alongside appearances from Heiko Jung (Panzerballett) and Ralf Schwager (Subsignal) on bass. It is also wonderful to see the inimitable Michael Schwager remaining behind the drum kit for this third instalment.

‘Liquid’ is an album of profoundly stark and unexpected contrasts – lyrically, emotionally and musically. Where ‘Numb’ has a relentless and intensely focused momentum, ‘Liquid’ to some extent takes its foot off the pedal, gives itself some time to breathe, and offers a more varied, versatile and challenging range of music with which to grapple. There is a greater sense of maturity about this release, a more reflective and contemplative approach to the song writing which takes the edge off the direct rawness which characterised ‘Numb’ and in the process, opens wider possibilities for emotive expression in and through the music.

The passion, the intensity and the focus are all still present in abundance. But there is now a more deliberate and even meditative quality coming through. When passion is spent and the rage of emotion has run its course, reason quietly returns and adds its voice once more. Indeed, this is often how the album feels; torrents of sharp, powerful, aggressive passages are followed by calmer, soothing almost heightened moments of tranquility and clarity, the instrumental ferocity dialed right back to leave an airy, almost passive, healing aftermath.

Kallner’s guitar work is blisteringly brilliant. Listening to the sheer precision of his playing, the eagerness and constrained passion he exudes and the forcefulness of his attack when he abandons controlled discipline and lets his virtuosity soar in some jaw dropping solo work belies the impression that this is something deeply personal. You get the feeling that he is working things through, maybe in his own mind, and riding the ebb and flow of shifting, troubled emotions as he goes along. Some people are good at expressing themselves through words; he lets his guitar do his thinking out loud.

To this extent, ‘Liquid’ becomes a fascinating insight into the turbulent thoughts and emotions which are swirling throughout the album, sometimes expressed in symphonic eddy’s churning just below the surface, at others gushing in anthemic, foot-stomping torrents before cascading into serene, harmonic waters. There is a natural momentum which carries you along from track to track and into the seamless, almost intuitive transitions between moods, thoughts and feelings.

Not everything on this album works. Just as you can become lost in your thoughts, so there are times when the music feels as if it has lost a little of its direction and focus. Some of the ideas don’t quite work as I suspect they were intended, upheavals in rhythmic timing perhaps too hasty and maybe one or two of the hooks not quite transiting to where the music wants to lead us. But then, thoughts are never complete, feelings are always on the way to somewhere else and the exuberance, fervour and excitement of the music is more than enough to carry us through the choppy waters to the next part of the river.

Wallner believes that ‘Liquid’ “completes a comprehensive artistic process that saw its beginnings years ago”. This new release certainly brings significant developments and unexpected progressions to the Blind Ego project. My sincere hope, however, is that rather than reaching the end and completing the journey, there are more bends yet to come in this particular musical river.

Released 21st October 2016

Buy ‘Liquid’ on CD or Vinyl from The Gentle Art Of Music

Review – Kyros – Vox Humana – By Emma Roebuck

Kyros (Nee Synaethesia) is Adam Warne (vocals, keyboards), Joey Frevola (guitars), Peter Episcopo (bass, vocals), Robin Johnson (drums, percussion) & Sam Higgins (guitars, vocals). They have been tipped and praised in the media and rock press in their original guise growing out of Adam’s solo project into a fully fledged band. I am not one to patronise when I say this, but, these guys are young and this is a definitive advantage in many respects. They are not shackled to the 70s golden age but they pull influences from the 80s and 90s too. Like genuine artistic magpies they are content to take all that is good from a wide range of sources and put elements of it into their music.

The music is very very full on; the influences of Haken are obvious with drummer Raymond Hearne arranging the brass on various sections. It is a sonically dense album with so much going on that what at first appears to be a simple piece has hidden depths. New Paradigm is one such track. At face value it feels like a crooner from the 40s accompanied by a piano but then evolves into a an atmospheric combination of the harmony and keyboards that becomes almost ethereal in it quality.

To counterbalance this Technology Killed the Kids II is jam packed with intensity reflecting how much technology is filling the younger generation’s lives and leaving no space to breath or be real in a real world. It has a definite ‘Prog’ feel with massive keyboard sounds and it really stands out from the first listen to the last.

The single Cloudburst has overtones of later period Depeche Mode in it combined with post modern values in the writing. It is accessible and has a great hook and instrumental breaks that could easily be played on the mainstream radio. Yet it retains its “Progginess”, I hear IQ in the guitar breaks and keyboard combination but there is no plagiarism here.

Onto CD2 and the vision darkens here, beginning with track one Mind Electric, an ominous overtone of keys and guitar that has an air of a desperate struggle between humanity and technology. The endless struggle between humanity and its own invention is the theme that runs through the album from beginning to end. Monster is another stand out track, the keyboard riff that feels instantly familiar, frenetic musical breaks simulating a struggle between the Frankenstein’s monster of the theme and the inner humanity railing against the metaphorical windmills.

This drops straight into a far less fraught piece called Hounds that lulls you into a false sense of security as you become hunted by the music and the beast itself. The closing track of the album, simply called Dilate, channels everything into a climax of tragedy and despair as we inevitably fall into a trap of our own design.

Overall ‘Vox Humana’ works very well indeed and takes the project to the next level with the song writing and sophistication. It has been carefully crafted and created with much maturity that is rare in any band.

This record is full of clever harmonies but is clever merely for the sake of being clever but, rather, because it fits the need. It really feels like it has been written and created by the band rather than just Adam getting people to play his music. Which to be honest, as good as Synaethesia was, that is what it felt like to me.

If you want something that pulls musically from the 80s and 90s and only really offers a nod to the roots of Prog rock then this is for you. It has more from the likes of IQ, IT Bites, Muse, Radiohead, Depeche Mode and Haken than anything made in 1973. It isn’t a late night chill out but is excellent driving music and it shows that the future of our music is in good hands.

Released 5th November 2016

Buy ‘Vox Humana’ direct from the band.

Review – Kalle Vilpuu – Silver Lining – By Progradar

As most people who have followed my reviewing career will know, I am a big fan of instrumental albums and have reviewed many in the past 3 or 4 years, some excellent, some great and some, well, okay.

I am also a sucker for great album covers so when the chance came to review renowned Estonian guitar god Kalle Vilpuu’s first solo album ‘Silver Lining’, and I saw the minimal but stylish artwork by Hannes Aasamets & Mihkel Maripuu, I was very happy to take it on.

I’ve been really busy this year but I have finally found time to put my words down and deliver my review of this ultimately satisfying collection of songs.

Kalle Vilpuu was born in the Estonian miners’ town of Kohtla-Järve on July 24th, 1963. He started playing drums in a school band at the 1st Kohtla-Järve High School. Kalle soon switched to the guitar, however, due to a lack of serious interest in the drums and the rest, as they say, is history.

He has had a lengthy and interesting career, first playing in one of Estonia’s biggest band’s, Seitsmes Meel, while still studying at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School. Kalle has played with some of Estonia’s biggest rock acts including Tõnis Mägi’s 777, Ultima Thule, Marju Länik’s Saxappeal Band as well as hard rock act House of Games.

After leaving HoG, Kalle started composing and recording his own music that culminated in 2013 in his first solo album ‘Silver Lining’. Now he continues to play for Ultima Thule and Seitsmes Meel is back together after a 23 year break, busy working on new material and playing gigs.

Joining Kalle on his solo release is a fantastic collection of musicians:

Andrus Lillepea (drums), Henno Kelp (bass guitar), Mari Pokinen (vocal), Tarvi Jaago (flute), Tiit Kikas (violin), Martti Mägi (violin), Imre Eenma (bass, viola da gamba) Eduard Akulin (trombone) and Indrek Kruusimaa (flamenco guitar).

I have listened tot his album many times now and I have to admit it has taken its time to work its way into my affections. At first it seems a disparate collection of songs with no common thread but, give ‘Silver Linings’ time to appreciate its subtle nuances and stylish musicianship and you will realise that this is one of those albums that needs repeated play and will stay in your memory a lot longer for it.

Opening track Anomalies has much of the feel of a Satriani/Vai style track, if a little less in your face and you immediately respect the quality of Kalle’s playing, it has a sci-fi feel to it, like a harder edged Public Service Broadcasting. We move on to Unforgiven with its mystical, laid back opening which then proceeds into a determined, driving track but one which also has a rather nice ethereal flute as accompaniment. Here we get Kalle firing some burning licks and thunderous riffs, once again demonstrating his undoubted proficiency. Next Inferno, a piece of music which belies its title to deliver an otherworldly feel of peace, calm and harmony. A bewitching vocal performance adds some Celtic drama and gives a real ‘World Music’ appeal to the track.

Industrial No.4 does exactly what it says on the tin. A hard rocking industrial metal riff powers this leviathan of a song along. Pensive and solemn, I’m put in mind of hard-edged industrial rockers Ministry as the repetitive riff gets you nodding in appreciation, hitting you like a ten ton heavy thing! Fast paced and fluid, In The Back Of My Head charges into view like an irresistible force and an amalgam of sci-fi films all rolled into one. The solo in the middle of the track is a really powerful piece of playing that just adds to the drama of this juggernaut, a superb monster of a track. An electro-psychedelic homage to Satriani’s ‘Surfing With The Alien’, The Aliens (Have Landed) is quite a fun track that bounces along like it hasn’t got a care in the world. Discordant, left-field and just out there, it adds a real note of fun and mystery to the album.

Trapping is like the X-Files turned into music, quite disturbing and with a real creepy edge to it, it is quite deliciously suspenseful and apprehensive and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. There is a feeling of tension and anticipation running throughout and it doesn’t let up right until the end. Dreamlike and hypnotic, The Touch Of An Angel washes over you with its calming influence and mesmerising vocal backing. You feel yourself becalmed and in an oasis of musical serenity. That feeling continues with the delightfully charming and alluring notes of Rosie. Two and a half minutes of enchanting and sublimely soothing tranquility, just let all your troubles float away to leave you totally unruffled.

Forgiven gives us heavy, persistent riffs and matches them with a mystical feel of eastern promise to deliver a haunting and yet vibrant piece of intrumental music that has an inner vitality urging it along. We end with the title track Silver Lining, a song that has an initial anxious edge to it, treading water with some stylish electronic beats before a deep and dense guitar takes up the tale. It reminds me a bit of Shoot High, Aim Low from Yes’ much maligned 1987 release ‘Big Generator’ but without the vocals, obviously! This track goes off in its own direction with the addition of Kalle’s unforgettable soaring plaintive guitar playing. Quite a moving piece of music to close out the album with.

After the first couple of listens to this album I thought that, despite the obvious musical talent on show, it was a collection of disparate songs that were great in their own right but didn’t quite click together. Well, how wrong was I? Please give this stylish, classy release time to work its undoubted charms on you and you will come to realise, like I did, that is a really rather excellent collection of songs. Another great recommendation from me to you!

Released August 2014

Buy ‘Silver Lining’ on digital or CD from a selection of outlets.

Review – Nerve Toy Trio – Accidental Bar-B-Que – by Progradar

I have often said in the past that I am a sucker for great album cover. Top quality album art can draw you in and make you want to find out what the music is all about. Occasionally it can be a false dawn and the music does not stand up to the stature of the art used to portray it but, thankfully, most of the time it is an accurate facsimile.

When Tony Harn, guitarist with the Prog/Jazz Experimental group Nerve Toy Trio, first showed the artwork for their first full-length album ‘Accidental Bar-B-Que’ on social media I was immediately hooked and Tony soon sent me a copy of the release to have a listen to and review.

Bass player David Jones and drummer Howard Jones are the other two parts of this melodic fusion trio and between them they have created quite a work of art…

‘Accidental Bar-B-Que’ is 55 minutes of rather stylish music. Jazz tinged but with progressive music as its core, it is really infectious and intelligent music with a huge amount of joie de vivre running throughout.

The six tracks have, shall we say, interesting titles that also put a big grin on your face starting with opener Frozen Veg Alarm (yes, it really is called that!), a mesmerising meander with more than a hint of 70’s psychedelia to it. The metronomic music draws you in almost to a trance like state. The distinctive tone of Tony Harn‘s guitar is a constant echo in your mind before the track changes tack and opens up into something altogether more bright and infused with a sunshine like glow. The feel-good factor of the music is delightfully contagious as these three highly impressive musicians go about their business with n’er a hair out of place. Title track Accidental Bar-B-Que begins about as laid back as you could possibly get. Seriously chilled jazz that lulls you into a bit of a false sense of security, one minute you are relaxed and then the next it segues off into some experimental, free-form jazz jam that knocks your whole psyche off kilter. Like a warped soundtrack to some 70’s secret agent series it has an energy and rawness that actually makes you feel vibrant and alive. Tony’s guitar may be directing proceedings but the bass and drums of the Jones boys are the engine room of this highbrow creative track.

Mushroom Attitude has a 70’s hippy feel to it, some laid back world music that is creamy and effortless. Once again, the feel-good factor is ramped up to maximum, a carefree and untroubled tone runs throughout the opening minutes but, in the background, you can always feel something a bit more serious and vital that anchors the music back in the real world. The interplay between the three musicians is an absolute delight to behold and Tony’s signature guitar sund is becoming more and more recognisable with every note. Howard Jones’ drumming has a vitality and energy that gives it a life of its own and David Jones’ bass playing is superb. Onto Potholing and a song that begins as almost a nod to Hank Marvin with Tony’s intricate guitar picking reminding me of The Shadow’s guitarist. It’s a real fast paced and upbeat track in parts that gets your toes tapping and your head nodding. A touch of folk/country and even Canterbury scene to add to the progressive jazz tendencies perhaps with its hints of Camel and Caravan. The guys really excel themselves on this track and their musical interplay is almost fluid in its skill. It may be eleven minutes long but you get so engrossed that the time just flies by.

Split The Sketch has an apparent serious tone to it, a wealth of musical nous and years of nostalgia seem to seep out of every note and inflection. The guitar playing is more intricate and the bass and drums have an experienced and cultured edge to them. It reminds me a bit of when Neal Schon decided to go all serious and drop his guitar god guise on his instrumental release ‘Beyond The Thunder’ and has touches of that album’s quiet power, cool jazz licks and worldbeat rhythms to give this track a really soulful feel. The final track on this elegant release is the gracefully energetic Blue Blazes, a stirring piece that has an abundance of life and soul to it. Again those Canterbury touches are present and correct but just add to the heartfelt sincerity and emotion of the song. An evocative guitar note and the ardent rhythm section add layers of vivacity and substance to give us an emotive finish to the album.

A really impressive and ultimately satisfying release that really gets into your psyche and has you reaching for the repeat play button again and again. Nerve Toy Trio has given us one of the best instrumental releases of the year with ‘Accidental Bar-B-Que’ and one with which the music really does stand comparison to the excellent album art. Seems my gut feeling was right once again, a highly recommended release.

Released 9th September 2016

Buy ‘Accidental Bar-B-Que from Burning Shed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rflXf06H2mw

Review – Emmett Elvin – Assault On The Tyranny Of Reason – by Shawn Dudley

Earlier in 2016 I was finally introduced to the enjoyable wonders of Knifeworld via their latest album ‘Bottled Out Of Eden’. In the ensuing months it has been one of my most played albums and has inspired me to check out the other releases the band members have participated in. One such release is the engagingly obtuse ‘Assault On The Tyranny Of Reason’ from Knifeworld keyboardist Emmett Elvin. Happily just as unique and vibrant, it’s another album that I can’t seem to get enough of.

Let’s get something out of the way right off the bat. I’m not going to attempt to assign this album into a particular genre or style, with an album this diverse it would be a ludicrous attempt at categorization. In 1968 The Amboy Dukes scored a hit single with a song called Journey To The Center Of The Mind, that title works better as a descriptor for ‘Assault On The Tyranny Of Reason’ than any preconceived genre tag would. It’s a singular, personal work of an artist freely expressing himself; the rest of the journey is up to the listener.

The album is beautifully balanced; it consists of satisfyingly diverse instrumentals with a few vocal tracks mixed in throughout. While the various pieces aren’t necessarily connected to one another and cover a wide swath of stylistic ground it nevertheless sounds like a cohesive album experience.

The playfully comic Boiling begins our journey and the impeccable quality of the arrangement and the production is immediately evident. The strummed acoustic guitar introduction (reminiscent of Time Flies by Porcupine Tree), the lap-steel (or possibly pedal steel) slide guitar motif that segues into a Zappa-esque mix of carnival piano and a vocal line that brings to mind the more tongue-in-cheek aspects of King Crimson ala Happy Family. Then the soundscape expands to include a sweeping string section and wordless vocal choir that conjures visions of mid-period Led Zeppelin, the full effect heard beautifully in the instrumental coda. While the influences are immediately evident, the resulting arrangement is wholly unique.

The use of orchestration (primarily strings and horns) is one of the most appealing elements of the album as a whole, whether used to add dramatic effect to a beautiful piano-driven instrumental piece like Dysnomia or fully integrated into a progressive rock workout like the thrilling, multi-layered Heartburster. So many bands use orchestration as aural wallpaper, just slathering it onto everything to help disguise the fact that not much is going on underneath, to hear it used so successfully, so musically, is joyous to behold.

It’s really an album best experienced as a whole entity, to be enjoyed in a one sitting without interruption. While there isn’t a weak track on the album and each piece can exist completely on its own, it really becomes greater than the sum of its parts when viewed as an extended work. There is such a variety of mood and instrumental texture; it remains completely gripping throughout the 50-minute running time.

Some of my favorite individual pieces are the darker, more menacing cuts like the eerie The Democracy They Deserve and the wonderfully heavy, almost doom-like dirge of The Plankton Suite. The second half of which hints at what a collaboration between King Crimson and Opeth might sound like. I’m also especially fond of the more textural, avant-garde pieces like The Curate’s Eggnog, the bonus track Sphere Of The Deceiver and the joyful insanity of the title track. Of the vocal tracks my favorite is the gonzo Dozy Phantoms which reminds me a little of Josh Homme’s work with Queens Of The Stone Age.

Overall each listener is going to experience something quite unique when listening to ‘Assault On The Tyranny Of Reason’; the associations I bring to it likely won’t mirror the ones you experience. That to me is one of the integral ingredients of great art, it’s not truly complete until the individual brings their own personality and experience to it. Emmett Elvin has crafted a beautifully complex yet still highly accessible work and he respects the intelligence of his audience enough to let us complete that journey toward it. I highly recommend the destination, however you get there.

Released 23rd September 2016

Buy ‘Assault On The Tyranny Of Reason’ from Bad Elephant Music at bandcamp.

Review – Epica – The Holographic Principle – By Kevin Thompson

There are some excellent bands producing Symphonic Metal. Very popular and with some exceptional exponents, among them Nightwish, Within Temptation and Stream of Passion to name a few. So it is very easy for a few to slip under the radar, for me one of those has been EPICA, (which they define as Excellence. Power. Intelligence. Creativity. Ambition. on their publicity blurb). Hailing from the Netherlands and formed in 2002, “The Holographic Principle” is their seventh studio album, which they say is their heaviest to date.

As is often the case, prerequisite for the majority of these bands is a powerful/operatically voiced frontswoman and EPICA tick the box well and truly with the beautiful, flame haired Simone Simons. Guitarist Mark Jansen’s sonorous growls contrast like Beauty and the Beast, sometimes for me a little intrusive as I’m not a big fan of this sort of vocalisation. This is loud, heavy and bombastic music, with Gregorian and choral style chanting and the screaming guitar solos from Isaac Delahaye cutting a swathe through the cinematically orchestral embellishments of Coen Janssen’s keyboards. The thundering rolls of Ariën van Weesenbeek’s drums combining with Rob Van Der Loos’ bass foundations on which the arrangements are built.

The album opens with the miniature epic Eidola which is far too short for me, but a great introduction. It could have soundtracked the film ‘300’, conjuring scenes of a huge procession. Armoured elephants in gleaming gold cresting the horizon as thousands of battle hardened, marching infantry hammer the road before them, their feet smashing into the dust. Heat and sweat mingle as they haul huge war machines of mass destruction toward the enemy.

I would have liked for it to merge into Edge of the Blade, as I find the suddeness of the starting riff jars slightly with the preceding track. A small niggle soon forgotten as you are then carried along at a crashing pace with only the soothing vocals from Simone to give respite, before they reach for the stratosphere. There is a middling slow of pace before the growling hits with the guitars and you are hurtled into the maelstrom of battle again.

Plucked strings are crushed by the guitars as they issue in A Phantasmic Parade, and the war machines unleash a hail of deadly notes and choral choruses to assault your senses.

A brief lull, then charging through the settling dust and smoke come the Universal Death Squad, screaming their war chants and brandishing weapons, lusting for blood and souls. Red rimmed eyes seeking foes and victims as they reap bodies like sheaves of bloodstained stalks of grain. Simone’s vocals and Isaac’s keyboards lifting the track beyond the onslaught.

A few retreating survivors fire back in the distance as orchestral swathes mix with piano before they are scattered to Divide and Conquer, Mark’s barked ululations at his marauding horde, directing their onslaught to demoralise the enemy, with the engaging Simone encouraging a memorable chorus at his side.

Exalting vocals precede celebratory instruments, orchestrated as they march Beyond the Matrix, Simone conducting the guitar verses, Mark gutterally picking off survivors on the wasted battlefield and guitars herald their affirmation to a rousing choral end.

Haunting Celtic violins bring an ease to the aggression as we wander Once Upon A Nightmare, accompanied by Simone’s voice and Coen’s piano, the orchestra and choir falling into line with the guitars and drums treading respectfully across the musical battlefield intensifying to a rousing dramatic end.

Melodramatic choir, heavy riffs and driven drums crash in, with Simone adding gloss to Mark’s hard edged vocals. The layered orchestration and keyboards propelling us forward across the universe in search of answers to The Cosmic Algorithm, as the tune hurtles to it’s inevitable end.

Mr Jansen’s portents add gothic doom to the Ascension – Dream State Armaggedon, a brief verbal passage warning this is the end of everything as we know it, echoing the bands’ attempts to elevate themselves out of their comfort zone and progress their sound, morphing and fading out as drums and exotic strings bring a Middle Eastern touch to Dancing in a Hurricane. The addition of Asian instruments like whirling dervishes dance between the band, swirling dust and sand in the heat of the music.

Lush strings and atmospheric piano soothe before you are bludgeoned by the propulsive metal of battle as the band Tear Down Your Walls, Simone and the choir flying above the destruction like avenging angels crushing all and everything in their path with their symphonic cannons.

And so we come to the grand finale, The Holographic Principle – A Profound Understanding of Reality, (even the title’s epic) and for me the band’s most adventurous track on the album. They have literally thrown everything at their disposal into this, creating a huge production. From the monastic chanted introduction, this veers from soft piano to orchestral swathes. The drama of the vocals against soaring guitar solos and pounding staccato rhythms ascending into the heavens to a headrushing climax.

I now have a confession, I had to take a break for a few days before finishing this review as the intensity of the album after five plays became a little overwhelming. There is no doubting this is an excellent example of the genre, but I would have liked to hear maybe a couple of slower tracks, even ballads to give this more balance and the faster, heavier tracks more impact. The ones that do start gently are quickly swallowed up by the band’s apparent enthusiastic attempts at progression and a slight release may have allowed the music to breathe a little.

That said it’s a cracking album and I am surprised I have not picked up on Epica before and I shall certainly be listening to the back catalogue and watching for future releases. If you like this genre and you have also passed them by I suggest you give them a listen.

All pictures by Tim Tronckoe Photography..

Released 30th September 2016 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Buy ‘The Holographic Principle’ from Nuclear Blast Records

Review – Blues Pills – Lady In Gold – by James R. Turner

This is the second album from Swedish Blues rockers Blues Pills, who appeared as if from nowhere back in 2014 with their assured self titled debut album with its wonderfully psychedelic artwork and its feet planted firmly in the blues rock tradition of the late 60’s. In fact, with the power behind the band and the sublime vocals of singer Elin Larsson, they sounded like Led Zeppelin if they’d been fronted by Janis Joplin.

Of course the band hadn’t appeared from nowhere, they’d been working hard since they formed back in 2011 and Blues Pills was the culmination of their hard work. Now in 2016, after a slight personnel change, where Andre Kvarnstrom has replaced original drummer and founder member Cory Berry, they unleash their second studio album on the world.

One of the things that is always a concern, when faced with a band who’ve built up their presence organically and had time to refine their sound, is that, once they’ve unleashed a cracking debut, you find the second album is either rushed to capitalise on their success or is half finished, as they’ve used all their ideas up.

Luckily Blues Pills have been working hard to avoid this and ‘Lady in Gold’ is a clear evolution of their sound.

Opening with the title track, the traditional figure of death is reimagined as a Lady in Gold who comes to all at the end, and with the superb vocals of Elin to the fore and with some amazing guitar work from Dorian Sorriaux.

With a lot more depth and range than their debut album, Elins soulful vocals get a real workout on the moving and beautiful I Felt a Change. With this being a piano ballad, the band taking a back seat whilst Elins vocals shine, you can hear the emotion in her voice and, whilst it’s a more mellow sound to the band, it fits perfectly within the album and confirms how the band are maturing as songwriters. With a driving drum and bass beat powered by Zach Anderson, it gives us no pause for breath as it takes us into the driving Gone So Long, where the music that underpins the track simmers with power and energy, always only just under control before exploding into a powerful solo.

Clocking in at a mere 40 minutes with 9 original songs and a cracking cover of Elements and Things by Tony Joe White, the energy and soul never lets up, giving you a wonderful contemporary blast of psychedelic blues rock. The band are honest about where their influences come from but they are not mere copyists, instead, they take the ideas from an exciting era in classic rock and give it a 21^st update, almost the musical equivalent of a Fiat 500. Something unmistakably from the classic rock mould but slap bang up to date as well.

Drenched in Hammond and with such amazing vocals, this is for anyone who enjoys foot tapping, soulful, catchy blues rock and, with no misstep on this album, Blues Pills have proved they have staying power.

If you can’t guess I bloody love this record!

Released 5th August 2016

Buy ‘Lady In Gold’ from Nuclear Blast

Review – Crippled Black Phoenix – Bronze – by Gary Morley

I have a love hate relationship with post rock. It depends on the weather I think.

Someday a gumbo mix of old Black Sabbath riffs, Bauhaus vocal growls and thundering Bonham influenced drums hits that spot. Other days the “everything louder than everything else” mantra grates and I want a simple clean palate of sound.

Crippled Black Phoenix (CBP) take pride of place in my collection as the only stoner/ Rock/ post rock band that I like. Their albums are dense, complex affairs, their live shows are powerful multimedia events and the band themselves look as if they’ve been auditioning for the part of the Swedish Biker gang in “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” series. I will confess now, I loved their version of Echoes that came out last year, it was a deserving cover that took the original off into new directions whilst retaining the musical core. I liked it so much that I tracked down both versions, sad…

On their latest album, ‘Bronze’, CBP tick all the boxes for my Post Rock checklist. There are all of the above and one crucial factor often missing from albums today, a sense of theatre and dynamic.

We all know the quite / loud/ quiet / shouty formula for songs. Post rock goes for a calculus derivative of that with fractural loud / loud/ full throated roar.

I described CBP as Pink Floyd’s Echoes played by Black Sabbath.

There is that underlying melodic core to their songs that Pink Floyd use, alongside the power and menace injected by the Heavy Rock Sabbath influenced riffs and drums.

Track 5, Champions of Disturbance (Pt 1&2) for example , at the 4 minute mark goes off on a boogie that is equal parts Run Like Hell and Paranoid. It shouldn’t work but it does. I want to turn the amp up to eleven and introduce the whole street to this glorious noise.

This is all things a great rock album should be: Loud, full of power and menace, but with glorious tunes and riffs that make you want to play air guitar to.

There are subtle touches hidden among the noise too, great little Rock n roll piano at the end of that track, some nice snatches of dialogue interspersed among the songs, even a brass section at one point.

There are thumping drums, great guitar parts that layer and build and build to a point of almost obscene climatic release.

Some bands make the most awesome racket and are let down by the singer. Too clean, too growly, too weak, too OTT. No such issues here, every track has a vocal that works, from quiet reflective musings to the powerful rockier numbers, Daniel Änghede and Belinda Kordic sing with passion and skill throughout.

I’m listening for the 4^th time now and I’m enjoying the nuances unfolding.

Some lovely drum and guitar on track 7, Turn To Stone, remind me of the middle of “stranglehold” by Ted Nugent, where he scrapes his plectrum down the strings before ripping a glorious solo, the superb guest vocals are supplied by Arvid Jonsson.

Nugent is a dick, politically as far as I am concerned, but that track is sublime. CBP tap into that feeling here, this is rock music, big rock music.

I don’t know what the tracks are called (Ed. – don’t worry, I’ve helped you there…), but it matters not as it’s the “feel” I meant to convey.

This album is progressive and retro in equal measures. CBP are determined to forge their own path, if that path needs a detour into a forest of gothic beauty, as in track 8, Scared and Alone, where celestial distorted sounds underpin Belinda Kordic’s vocal before a Big Country type guitar leads us out onto the path, then they go there without fear and we wander along with them, out into a clearing where Justin Greave’s guitar makes with the Pink Floyd inspired playing before we stare back into that gothic forest again , mournfully now as Robert Holm’s Brass Section appears, not to soothe but to twist and snipe alongside the angry and menacing vocal. The sweet forest is now a threatening black mass of trees blocking out the light, but hope is at hand as the celestial sounds returns and this gothic musical journey ends.

If you liked The Mission, the Sisters of Mercy, Classic Pink Floyd and a bit of good old Black Country riffage, then this is for you.

I’m sure that there are bands out there that are “heavier”, more technical in their approach to playing, but this is, to me, what a “Rock Band” should be doing.

The dynamic of the album, even in preview mp3 quality, is impressive. Cranked up it sounds great. There are lovely little piano pieces before the drums explode and fill the spaces. The guitars are in places shoegazingly monotone, as the songs unfurl they gain in definition, the soundscape broadens to encompass keyboards and layers of drone , all mixed, all ebbing and flowing in the mix. The songs are allowed to stretch and run to over 5 or 6 minutes, but without getting dull.

My Grandfather would approve of this album as there is a place for everything and everything is in its place.

My review file had 10 tracks, running for just over an hour. It’s an hour well spent.

There is a deluxe version of the album that has2 extra tracks. I have ordered it , although the double clear vinyl album version looks tempting . Whichever version, it will be a thing of dark beauty, a proper “rock” album for the modern age.

Released 4th November 2016

Pre-Order ‘Bronze’ from Season of Mist

Review – The Gift – Why The Sea Is Salt – by Leo Trimming

Let’s get straight to the point – ‘Why the Sea is Salt’ is a truly exceptional album, and deserves to propel The Gift in to the higher echelons of current British Progressive Rock Music. Simple as that – it really is that outstanding. Very few albums indeed have the potential to attain the status of a potential ‘classic’ album, which will live long in the memory like ‘Why the Sea is Salt’. This is a work which greatly appeals to the heart and mind in equal measures, and similarly beguiles and stimulates in its beauty and drama.

This album is a considerable step up in ambition and achievement by a band that has evolved very significantly over the last year. Commencing as a studio project by Mike Morton and Leroy James in 2006, The Gift released promising debut anti-war album ‘Awake and Dreaming’, then went to sleep for a few years due to other life commitments. Morton then teamed up with talented song writer David Lloyd to re-form The Gift and record the excellent album ‘Land of Shadows’ in 2014 as one eclectic label Bad Elephant’s first ever releases (The third to be precise). This hard working band has been playing live over the last couple of years to develop their sound, skills and audience at venues across the UK and even a first trip to Europe in 2014 to play in the Netherlands. Stalwart Stefan Dickers has been their rock on bass for that period. They successfully appeared at last year’s Summer’s End Festival in Wales, and it was clear then they were on an upward trajectory.

The Gift have wanted to take a different and more ambitious musical approach requiring some changes in personnel, with no disrespect to their able predecessors. They recruited new drummer Neil Hayman from BEM label mates progressive hard rockers, Konchordat. He definitely adds more experience, creativity and power to the band. Leroy James also ‘came home’, rejoining the band late in the writng process of this album and just before recording started, adding his deft guitar skills and a more rock oriented approach to David Lloyd’s subtle flowing guitar work. The last but possibly most significant piece in bringing The ‘New’ Gift Jigsaw puzzle together was the recruitment on keyboards of an Italian bona fide Classical Music star, Gabriele Baldocci, who performs piano recitals around the world, alongside teaching at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in Greenwich. Morton heard that Baldocci loved Genesis, Queen, Yes, Beatles, Crimson, Camel and Tull, and wanted to use his classical skills in a progressive rock band. The Gift were delighted to recruit him, and on the evidence of this album it is clear that his undoubted incredible keyboard skills, eminent classical background and love of great rock music adds something really special to the mix. He is a real gift to The Gift!

‘Why the Sea is Salt’ is a rich presentation of musical styles and sounds, social commentary, mythological references, and touching expressions of personal feelings of loss and mourning. This is an album with very strong and distinctive individual songs. However, ‘Why the Sea is Salt’ has even more impact if consumed as a whole with lyrical and musical themes threading through the tapestry of the album, producing a remarkably consistent and resonant piece of work. The focus is upon man’s sad disconnection from life’s real meaning, with the poetic sense that in human existence our collective tears ‘salt’ the sea. This description may make it sound like a ‘weighty’ piece of work, but crucially The Gift never forget that the Song is Key, and it is filled with memorable melodies and harmonies which make it accessible, entertaining and interesting for a wider audience. In fact, this album is notable for the balance between lyrics and music. They compliment each other, but crucially the lyrics allow enough space for the music alone at times to breathe and convey the spirit of the song.

The song which may inevitably attract the most attention from some is The Tallest Tree, featuring contributions from Anthony Phillips and Steve Hackett of Genesis fame, alongside the more recent emerging talent of Peter Jones from Tiger Moth Tales. Anthony Phillips provides characteristically beautiful and shimmering 12 string guitar with Peter Jones playing a touching Irish whistle to add suitable pathos to the intro. This is a heartfelt song of loss about the passing of vocalist Mike Morton’s father with deeply felt and succinct lyrics, based on a poem Mike Morton wrote for and recited at his father’s funeral. Towards the end Steve Hackett perfectly reflects the elegiac feeling with a tasteful and distinctive guitar solo, and then perhaps appropriately the song fades away wistfully into the distance. I do not mind sharing with you that the first hearing this song reduced me to tears as it touched on my own parallel loss of parents with Morton. Memories of holding my own mother’s hand as she passed away were reflected in similar images of Morton taking his father’s own hands towards the end:

‘I Take Your Hands… Now as Fragile as a sigh,

As through this Veil of Tears, We say our last Goodbye

Now the Tallest Tree is Falling, Our Faces Feel the Rain,

As Darkness Turns to Morning, Love is What Remains’

It is unusual for this reviewer to share such a personal memory in a review, but it is done to show how The Gift’s lyrics and music can truly touch the listener. Such is the simple beauty of the music and honest expression of deep emotions, which will touch many listener’s hearts, that it seems clear this song could become regarded as a classic.

To go back to the album’s beginning, ‘Why the Sea is Salt’ commences aptly with the suitably nautical and mythical At Sea, premiered to great acclaim at the recent ‘Power of Three’ gig in London. Mainly written by David Lloyd, this acts like an overture for the album as Gabriele Baldocci shows his classical piano excellence with a softly undulating piano solo with hints of Ravel as we start our musical voyage, leading onto Lloyd’s gently floating guitar. Like a sudden storm rising, the tempo and power suddenly builds with Hayman pounding away and Baldocci running a sinuous synth line above the backing in a scintillating instrumental section. The guitars and keyboards intertwine to great effect, and then Dickers’ melodic bass line leads us into a short but expressive guitar solo, before we settle back into a piano section… and after six minutes a ‘Becalmed’ singer Mike Morton finally enters the fray. Quite an opening to an album. This is Morton as Greek chorus with sonorous but vulnerable vocals, setting the scene including some mythic images (… but have no worries, this album is no corny ‘sword and sorcery’ epic!) The finely judged concluding guitar solo completes the ‘overture’ and takes us on into the main body of the album.

The Gift next take us into a horror story with Sweeper of Dreams, a baroque intro leading into a powerful song full of characterisation reminiscent of Alex Harvey. This is a dramatic ‘story’ song with lyric writer Morton singing menacingly in character as ‘The Sweeper’. One can only imagine what Morton will do to portray this scary character in concert. Baldocci and Morton wrote the majority of the musical themes, Gabriele showing that he can really rock alongside his classical skills, as the song alternates between hard rock and scary ‘evil clown’ carousel sounding interludes. Writer Neil Gaiman was pleased to permit The Gift to use the theme and name of one of his short stories for this song. Fittingly, the images evoked by the memorable music and lines such as ‘Dispose of the Debris, Lying around in your Brain’ may well enter the dream worlds of many listeners.

The Gift take us in a very different direction with the touching and delightful Tuesday’s Child , based on a lyrical idea from Baldocci, shaped and developed by Mike Morton, telling a personal story of an older sad man woefully looking back to the beautiful but forsaken joy and innocence of childhood. The Road of Ashes instrumental opening draws us in beguilingly with keyboards creating a lovely soundscape for an emotionally delicate, floating guitar line. Acoustic guitar then takes us into a beautiful sung lyric in the First Flower section. This is subtle, intelligent and heart felt lyric writing, characteristic of Mike Morton, and for which he should become much more well-known. He makes the connection between emotions and the sea in touching but catchy choruses :

‘Someone’s been waiting for me, somewhere not quite light enough to see

Is this the one I used to be? Cast adrift amongst the Shadows and Salt Waters, That Flow from Me’

Alongside such insightful and emotive lyrics this song of redemption and self-realisation is also expressed perfectly with finely crafted music as the bass and drums deftly back Lloyd’s flowing and sensitive concluding guitar solo – demonstrating the skill of The Gift in marrying words and music together with skill and insight in conveying the ‘feel’ and message of a song.

The main inspiration for the album title ‘Why the Sea is Salt’ comes originally from a Norse legend in which a man finds a mill that grinds out anything he wants. However, he gets too greedy, and when he asks it to grind out salt for his food, the power behind it grinds endlessly, swamping him and everyone. The mill then falls into the sea, where it still churns, thus making the sea salty. This mythological source is re-interpreted by The Gift on this album as modern man’s greed for ‘stuff’ which consumes and hurts us. Nowhere is this better expressed than on the epic song cycle of All These Things, a piece largely written mainly by Lloyd and Morton. Apparently this song cycle was originally called Black Friday but that title was felt to be too specific as the piece had a wider perspective. Lloyd’s love of Jethro Tull and early Strawbs is demonstrated by the opening acoustic guitar and vocal harmony section in The Vow, portraying marriage as a transaction, a swapping of rings, underlining society’s pre-occupation with possessing things, including each other. Church organs resound as a slight dig at organized religion before we flow into the Harvest of Hollow. The use of understated flamenco guitar shows that The Gift are not afraid to stretch their boundaries. Indeed, it appears that this is a band who wanted to avoid simply repeating previous patterns as they used previously unexplored sounds and styles.

The Gift are not afraid to make political points of social commentary, with Morton particularly animated by his distaste for the current politics of the UK as a ‘crop of bitter weeds’. The Gift direct their focus on the futile emptiness of materialistic consumerism, leading to endless acquisition but never enough to satisfy:

‘So which of us is satisfied? Tell me, are you satisfied?

The Roulette spins in empty eyes, Our Hungerbeasts prowling and growling inside

It’s an unhealthy appetite, Take another bite… Having is Nothing, Hunting is All’

This song cycle takes an ever darker turn as we enter Feeding Time in which The Gift have never sounded so brutal and menacing with an angry and coruscating guitar duo between David Lloyd and Leroy James – the instruments cinematically telling the story as powerfully as any words. In contrast, the next lilting section The Jackdaw, Magpie and Me commences with bird sounds and a gentle acoustic guitar motif as Morton intones with such clarity about the selfishness and emptiness of collecting things trinkets like magpies. Dickers and Hayman’s subtle bass and drums underline the piece with skill, showing that they are not all about power. The animal imagery is carried on into the gentle re-birth or turning point of the Swan and Butterfly section, with perhaps even a subtle or subconscious reference to previous album’s highlight The Willows. The lyrics encourage the notion that if we reconnect with Nature, both its external aspects and our inner selves, we have no need to complete ourselves through ‘things’. The gentle pastoral feel of this section with piano and flute sounds accentuate this as a more meditative section in which the song’s protagonist realises he is as free as creatures of both water and air if he chooses to free himself of the distractions of the media and possessions and reconnect with the earth he walks upon.

As this reviewer is rather melancholic at times I did have some initial reservations about the finale to this song section as Heartfire concludes this piece on a more celebratory almost hymnal note, an echo to the ecclesiastical hints in the opening part, The Vow. However, with repeated listenings it became clear that The Gift were right to conclude this remarkable song cycle with a more upbeat conclusion after the gentle pastoralism of the previous section. Morton urges us to ‘come to your senses’ , encouraging us to let the world outside fill our senses because there is enough joy and thrill in those experiences to keep us fulfilled all our lives. Cleverly, all five senses are lyrically engaged with the sight of ‘silver cloak of winter’, the touch of ‘summer heat’, the ‘taste of joyful tears’, the ‘scent of gardens’ and hearing ‘whispers in the dark’. These positive feelings are evoked by sun filled backing which skips along with a joyful synth line, and harmonic backing vocals, concluding ‘Take Heart’.

The coda to this album is the haunting Ondine’s Song. Baldocci’s eerie synth soundscape backs Morton’s mournful vocals, bringing us full circle to the sea based and mythically imbued lyrics of the opening At Sea. Ondine is a legendary elemental being associated with water, whom has inspired an opera by Debussy, a ballet by Henze and even The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson… and now a song by The Gift! The story involves her marrying a human to gain immortality, but if the human is unfaithful they are fated to die. On a more fundamental level in this song Ondine stands for the essential nature of Water as Life itself, and a plea not to pollute the world – without water there is no life, leading to the elegaic fading refrain:

‘Every Mortal Breath, By Her Grace Alone…. By her Grace Alone…’

In the legend the man’s infidelity breaks Ondine’s heart, and in this song Ondine’s heart is broken by Man’s treatment of the world. Her sorrow and man’s sorrowful salt tears run into the oceans. Once again the music sensitively expresses the flowing almost wraith like feeling of this piece.

The Gift have really stepped up a few levels with this remarkable album. They have not stretched the boundaries of music – very few artists truly do that. What they have undoubtedly done is skilfully and beautifully draw upon a variety of influences, inspirations and ideas and artfully crafted them into an imaginative and enjoyable musical experience that touches the heart and stimulates the mind. What more could one want from an album?! Do yourselves a favour and just go and buy it!

Released 28th October 2016

Buy ‘Why The Sea Is Salt’ from Bad Elephant Music

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