New Album Reviews - Spring 2022
The Flower Kings, Marillion, D'Virglio Morse Jennings, Pattern-Seeking Animals, Kaprekar's Constant
There’s
been a slew of important new album releases in the world of progressive rock
this Spring, and several of them are quite noteworthy. Here’s my takes on the
new albums I’ve been checking out recently.
The Flower
Kings – By Royal Decree
This is the
15th album from veteran Progressive rock band The Flower Kings, and
3rd since their 2019 reformation with this current lineup. This is a
double album, as each of their previous few have been as well, so it is quite
expansive and contains a lot of music, 18 tracks of mostly shorter songs (thus,
no long epics that they are somewhat known for) coming in at ~96 minutes of
music. First, the album sounds great, and the musicianship and lush arrangements
are superb throughout. The instrumental passages and sections within songs are
the real highlight here, as they generally raise the level of the songs.
Unfortunately, I have a bit of an issue with many of the songs themselves,
particularly many of the verse and chorus sections, as they tend to be somewhat
lackluster and just not very memorable. Overall, it’s quite pleasant and
enjoyable, but not much more than that. For me, most of the songs pass by
without generating much enthusiasm, doesn’t grab my attention, and just kind of
fade into progressive background music. The album doesn't really take off until
near the end of the first disc, with a great sequence of songs: 'We Can Make it
Work' is a bright little pop ditty that is elevated by the unique instrumentation
and wonderful arrangement (use of xylophone, various guitar fills, and vocals),
followed by 'Peace on Parade', a great instrumental that shows what this band
is capable of, too bad there are not more like this here, and then the disc closer
'Revolution', another album highlight. Disc 2 continues with hit and miss
tracks, but includes several more highlights. So yes, overall, the album is
quite good, and contains many great moments, but it is just not great overall.
I do not think it measures up to their best work. There are several fine songs
here, but also many just OK ones. Best
tracks: 'Peacock on Parade', 'Revolution', 'Evolution', 'We Can Make It Work', 'The Big
Funk', 'Funeral Pyre', 'A Million Stars'. Weaker Tracks: 'World Gone Crazy', 'Blinded',
'The Soldier', 'The Darkness in You', 'Moth'. Rating: 3ó.
Marillion –
An Hour Before It’s Dark
This is the
20th studio album from Prog mainstays Marillion, but their first
since F.E.A.R. in 2016. I have to admit that although I was a fan of the early
days of Marillion (with vocalist Fish) in the ‘80’s, I haven’t really followed
the band through the Steve Hogarth years, so was not very familiar with what
the band has done in recent years. This album pushes forward presenting
commentary on all the pressing issues of the day with an immersive sound and dark
and moody atmosphere. But this album also offers a bit more hope than some of
their previous ones, with very emotional and stirring lyrics and music. The
album features four suites of songs covering 4 major themes, as well as a
couple of standalone songs. Marillion fills the musical spaces with their own
version of a wall of sound, as keyboards and synths fill the background creating
a dark, flowing, moody atmosphere throughout. The music often reminds me of a
somewhat gloomier version of those ‘80’s synth-pop bands like Tears for Fear
and Talk Talk. At other times, there are definite similarities to U2, both in
the music and emotional heft of the lyrics. There are certainly some powerful
sections here and an immersive sound and feel throughout. One of the problems I
have with it, however, is that it is a bit too much of that same brooding
atmosphere throughout the entire album. And whether they are being somber and
sad, rocking out, or being uplifted with a heavenly choir, the tempo barely
changes, staying at the same slow mid-tempo pace. There is no question that
these guys are very good at what they do, and they create lovely immersive
soundscapes and emotionally charged moods. But, overall, it is just not my
thing, and for me most of the songs go on a bit too long and without enough
differences between the songs. However, the final epic suite, 'Care', is
magnificent, and works beautifully, raising the entire album several notches.
It starts with a funky beat and vibe reminiscent of Talking Heads and then
proceeds through several different sections of ebbs and flows leading up to a
magnificent soaring emotional finale. By far the highlight of the album, and
possibly a highlight of the band’s career, as this one works on all levels. The
rest of the album also has some stellar moments, but just not quite my cup of
tea overall. Still, a very good album,
and I’m sure fans of this kind of sound will rate it much higher. Best
tracks: 'Care', 'Be Hard on Yourself'. Weaker tracks: 'Reprogram the Gene', 'Murder
Machines'. Rating: 3.5ó
D'Virgilio,
Morse, Jennings - Troika
This is a
collaborative project between three illustrious veteran Prog rockers Nick D’Virgilio
(Spock's Beard, Big Big Train), Neal Morse (Spock's Beard, Neal Morse band,
Transatlantic, Flying Colors), and Ross Jennings (Haken), but the resulting
album is not what may be expected from this union. Here, rather than creating a
Prog epic, they break out their acoustic guitars, bongos, 3-part harmonies, and
catchy pop-rock hooks, for a wonderfully light, breezy, and refreshing album,
with many of the songs more reminiscent of Crosby, Stills, and Nash or America
than anything from the Prog realm. It's a fun album, with clever arrangements,
instrumentation, and vocal arrangements. The first 2/3 of the album keeps this
light acoustic pop vocal feel. Later in the album they do start to rock a bit
harder, especially on the much heavier 'Second Hand Sons', but these tracks are,
surprisingly, less successful, and mainly serve to disrupt the flow and fun
spirit of the rest of the album. Still, overall, a very good album and a nice
change of pace from some of the rather downbeat and dreary music out there. Best
tracks: 'Everything I Am',' Julia', 'You Set
My Soul on Fire', 'Another Trip Around the Sun', 'If I Could', 'What You Leave
Behind'. Weaker tracks: 'Second Hand Sons', 'My Guardian'. Rating: 3.5ó.
Pattern-Seeking
Animals – Only Passing Through
This is the
3rd album from Pattern-Seeking Animals, following their self titled
(2019) and Prehensile Tales (2020) albums. The band was formed in 2018 and
consists of current and former members and collaborators of Prog stalwarts Spock’s
Beard, including guitarist and lead vocalist Ted Leonard, Dave Meros (bass),
Jimmy Keegan (drums), and John Boegehold (synthesizers, guitar, mandolin). Apparently
they formed to develop songs they were writing that didn’t necessarily quite
fit for Spock’s Beard, which gave them opportunities to explore various other musical
directions. They incorporate a lot of pop and power pop sensibilities in
establishing great hooks, melodies, and vocals, but also mix in good bits of
jazz, folk, classical, and film score prowess, but also never abandon their
eclectic Prog approach (with plenty of odd-time curves and proggy instrumental
breakouts) . Each successive album has been better than their previous one, and
here on their third they really soar. Great stuff throughout. What I am most
impressed with is how imaginative and inventive the songs and
arrangements are. They put in whatever extra instrumentation and arrangement
flourishes that will enhance each song (horns, mandolin, sitar, bassoon,
violin, cello, specialty percussion). Even the songs that seem like they will be
relatively straight-forward pop/rock songs go into very interesting and unexpected
directions (such as ‘Much Ado’, which starts out as an all-out rocker, and then
drops into a cool acoustic vibe for the vocals and builds back into a rockin’
anthem). From the very opening notes of ‘Everdark Mountain’, I was hooked, with
its unique dark woodland prog sound, and it just takes off from there. Although
the album is a bit frontloaded (The very best songs are all in the 1st
5 tracks), it is nonetheless great throughout, with the mini-epic ‘Time Has a
Way’ probably the highlight. The album also includes two ‘bonus tracks’, which
are also quite good, but I think it was a good call to classify these as bonus
tracks and not an actual part of the album, as they are both a somewhat
different style, and decidedly less ‘proggy’ than the rest of the album, with
‘I’m Not Alright’ being a straight rocker, and ‘Just Another Day at The Beach’
being a fun, lighter pop-rock ditty. Overall, this is certainly one of the best albums
of the year so far, and was my fave of the year for a while, that is until I
heard the next album (below). Best Tracks: 'Time Has a Way', 'Everdark Mountain', 'Much Ado', 'I
Can’t Stay Here Anymore'. Weak
Tracks: None. Rating 4.5ó.
Kaprekar’s
Constant – The Murder Wall
Wow! What
an unexpected fantastic gem of an album. This is the 3rd album from Kaprekar’s
Constant, a ‘musical collective’ from the UK started by childhood friends and
multi-instrumentalists Al Nicholson and Nick Jefferson in 2017 that specializes
in their own brand of ‘symphonic melodic progressive rock’ that features
beautiful melodies, grand themes, lush arrangements, and great vocals, in
addition to a passion for history and storytelling. And the results on this
album are just fabulous. In addition to all the guitars, bass, piano, and
keyboards provided by Nicholson and Jefferson, the band features wind player
extraordinaire David Jackson (of Van der Graaf Generator) on all sorts of
saxes, flutes, whistles, recorders, and just about anything he can blow into.
Also featured are the dual lead vocalists Bill Jefferson and Dorie Jackson
(daughter of David), who have contrasting vocal sounds and styles but blend
well whether singing together or separately. Rounding out the band are Mike
Westergaard on keyboards and Mark Walker on drums and percussion. And OK, no, I
had never heard of these guys prior to about a month or so ago, but so glad I
found them (thanks to an enthusiastic review from Scot at The Prog Corner
(Youtube channel) I just had to check them out. Thanks Scot!). This is a
concept album with all the songs dealing with stories about various attempts
(both successful and unsuccessful) by mountaineers to scale the North Face of
The Eiger Mountain, known as the Murder Wall, due to all those that have lost
their lives on it. Although this may sound like a very dark theme, the music is
anything but dreary, filled with beauty from simple melodies to majestic
anthems. There are 17 individual relatively short songs (a total of 74 minutes
of music), but many of the songs are part of multi-song suites, as the album
tells the true stories of 6 different attempts to scale the mountain (dating
from 1935 to 1962). But you don't necessarily need to follow or care about the
lyrical content, as the beauty of the songs and arrangements carry the show
(but you probably will want to find out more about these events after hearing
the album, as the stories are quite compelling). Musically, probably the
closest comparison to other contemporary bands would be Big Big Train,
especially their more pastoral aspects, as they share Kaprekar's Constant's
feel for beautiful melodies and arrangements, grand themes, as well as their
penchant for British history and storytelling. Another band with some similar
aspects might be Moon Safari. As far as more classic Prog bands, I can hear
some similarities to bands such as Camel, Renaissance, and such works as
Anthony Phillip's The Geese and The Ghost. Although maybe a bit too laid-back
for many Prog fans (and this album is even a bit less ‘proggy’ than their
previous albums), I found it to be brilliant and enthralling from start to
finish, filled with such beautiful and inspiring music, it is just breathtaking.
If you enjoy any of the bands mentioned here, you should really like this
album. The music is quite accessible, with much in common with good pop-rock
and folk-rock, but just much more thoughtful, elegant, and majestic than
anything you would hear on the radio. It's hard to pick out the best tracks,
because they all are great, and fit together to make the whole thing flow so
well. It really needs to be heard in its entirety from beginning to end. For
me, this is unquestionably the best album I've heard so far this year, and will
be hard to beat on a best of the year list. Fantastic from start to finish. Best
Tracks: 'Tall Tales by Firelight', 'Failure
Takes Care of Its Own', 'Another Man's Smile', 'Hope in Hell', 'Third Man Down', 'A
Silent Drum', 'The Stormkeeper;s Daughter', 'Endeavor/Mountaineers/Hall of Mirrors'.
Weak tracks: None. Rating 5ó.
What did you think about any of these albums? Or are there other
recently released albums that have been especially great for you? Let me
know your picks and views.
BB’s Rating scale:1ó – Terrible, torturous to have to listen to
1.5ó - Poor, not worth your time
2 ó – Fair, maybe a couple half-way decent songs, but
sub-par overall
2.5ó – Average, OK, meh, not bad but not that good either
3ó – Good, solid album, several good songs, but not
spectacular. Certainly worthy, but may not be something you come back to very
often
3.5ó – Very good album. Some stellar tracks, very
enjoyable overall
4ó – Great album, filled with great songs, one that you
will want to come back to over and over again
4.5ó – Excellent album, beyond great, superb in every
way, just short of a masterpiece
5ó – A Masterpiece, among the greatest albums of its
type, and has stood the test of time
