Glaswegian Sam King has invited a few choice collaborators on this uber-modern hard prog album that spans stylistic boundaries, whilst retaining a distinctive common denominator throughout, not surprising as he plays the entire usual spectrum of guitars, keys, bass, drums, adding violin and trombone as the proverbial cherry. His drumming throughout is simply breathtaking, a young and highly talented name to remember.

The choppy playfulness is immediately apparent on the quirky « Neu Trik », propulsion provided by the athletic percussive gymnastics I had just mentioned, the dead-panned vocal infectious in its skilled nonchalance, sounding like a modern Robert Calvert (the iconic prog-punk Hawkwind vocalist) ‘waging cosmic war’ and an organic, constantly morphing arrangement that raised my eyebrows more than once. The wee pastoral chant+ mellotron bit was wholly unexpected, one hell of a cool ‘new trick’, a devastatingly effective opening move, finished off by a surreal solo by celebrated keyboardist Derek Sherinian that spares no punches in creating an alternative world of confused relief.

Sam gets to stretch out his creative muse on “Wreckage”, a metronomic drum pattern sets the tone for an initially suave introduction, blossoming into a mathematical guitar structure where the meandering bass of guest Cameron Smith collides with oblique wrist flickers, veering towards metallic shafts of blurred notes, disillusioned lyrics chanted in a somewhat despondent delivery, not too far from the Legendary Pink Dots. The rigid psychedelia induces a sense of vertigo highlighted by Porcupine Tree/Steve Wilson stalwart guest Adam Holzman inserting a series of fluid synthesizer solos that seem in opposition to the raging electric guitar/drum duality, a raucous interface that seals the deal.

Transitioning to a lighter expanse on “Hiding in Plain Sight”, a sunshiny ballad is now up front and in plain view for all to sway to, where a delicate vocal impresses by its inherent sincerity, a stripped-down arrangement coalescing a steady beat, tons of voice effects, a forlorn piano and nimble guitars that all combine ‘to make a difference’.

The title track is another chunkier piece that starts out in a soporific mist, creeping into the mind like some serpent, a diagonal trumpet causing a fair amount of concern, as it ‘displaces’ the flow towards a crueller guitar climate with constant twists and turns, Sam’s voice once again downhearted, with doom tendencies that could easily please the Bauhaus goth crowd, the keyboard surge being a highlight, serving up a variety of keyboard variations that evaporate into the horizon.

Clever lyrics with ‘no hope of remission’, brooding atmosphere with tortuous instrumentation, “Scintilla Absent” trembles like a mini-earthquake, gritty fretboards and accelerated drum fills cracking the arrangement into a zillion shards, the detonated dust gently falling back to earth. Highly melodic though still disturbing, drenched in profound psychedelia, where the lyrics really take the composition to an altogether celestial level.

The epic finale “Convergence” features the talented Randy McStine (whom I remember hearing live, opening for Riverside a few years ago), providing some exotic guitar soloing on an otherwise cyclonic track, starting out as a sad mood-altering proclamation, just voice and e-guitar, then turning into full on sizzling bombast, distributing tremors galore, bullying in multiple pace changes and urging some choir mellotron to really ante up the passion, just in time for McStine (poetry) to unleash his wicked lead.

The influences span the entire gamut of prog, from Trespass-era Genesis to mid-period King Crimson and recent bands like Porcupine Tree and the Pineapple Thief. Poignant, often intense, never really heavy metal but most definitely prog rock. As far as a debut album, this mature and focused artist should be considered with the greatest consideration as one of the more promising talents in recent memory. Looking very much forward to his next adventure, it will be my turn to wait patiently.

4.5 regal relocations