Well, this album certainly pertains to the title, finding beauty and truth in musical form is a luxury that progressive rock can easily provide. Back in 2020 when leader Dave Bandana began this project, he immediately connected with some exemplary musicians, names like Peter Jones (surely one of the great British prog talents), American drummer Tim Gehrt, Welsh guitarist Gareth Cole and the illustrious Cosmograf Robin Armstrong (who left after the second album). The four mentioned though are still the core, firmly entrenched in heir own little universe, crowning their relationship with this splendid effort, as well as being their finest. Toss in wordsmith Brad Birzer, and the sterling lyrics come alive with profound poignancy.
Nice expansive track to launch the listening experience, “Islands” has all the classic ingredients to make one lose themselves in an atoll of sonic pleasure. A heady combination of various stylistics seamlessly concocted to create escapism at its finest. Orchestral, Celtic, jazz, rock and folk tendencies unite as a common front, without any kind of tedium or overt simplicity. Initially silky smooth and ambient, the drama takes little time to divulge its many enjoyments, Gehrt’s primal beat bashing along like a giant wave, Cole’s tingling guitar behaving like a rudder, all captained along by Mr. Jones’ exceptional storytelling voice. Like a sudden monsoon surging across the horizon, the latter’s saxophone skills inject a sunny luminescence that can only make the heart race a tad faster. When the ‘timeless’ brass and axe decide to interweave, well, it is called magic for a reason! There goes my jaw again, fluttering away in the wind! I mean , WOW!
Only a breezy pseudo-instrumental can express the willowing beauty of “Fallen Leaves”, the numerous choral voices acting like foliage swept by Newton’s discovery. Its brief yet arching voluptuousness and fragile pastoral sense evokes images of acceptance and serenity. An ideal set-up for the colossal wallop of “Arribabok”, the suave Bandana bass underwrites the complete array of sophisticated sounds emanating from each instrument, proposing an almost funky vibe, yet Cole does experiment with Manzanera-like slivers from his insistent guitar and Jones does an extended Andy Mackay move on the saxophone. One can even detect a Paul Thompson sense on the drum kit. Proggy Roxy (my highest possible compliment)!
Much like my very best friend Lazland, my favourite month is also October, being hopeless romantic Autumn fans me thinks, and on “October Sun”, it’s purely heartwarming in its utter innocence, verging on panacea for the soul of fall worshippers, ‘until the sun shines through’. A hint of my all-time favourite album (Hero and Heroine by the Strawbs), what with choral mentions of shining and suns, the clanging Cole guitars even recollect fond memories of Dave Lambert. Thankfully, the Jones saxophone slams this into another jurisdiction as the jovial bass bops like a Mexican jumping bean (remember those?). My feet, my hands and my head were forcefully keeping the beat….Fun times coming up soon .
Speaking of which, “From Empty Trees” has a monstrous and trebly bass running rampant on this instrumental, the ebullient synthesizers slipping between the branches, organ unafraid to pomp as well as supply ceremony and finish of the proceedings with a scorching guitar solo just to keep the forest ranger faraway from Yogi Bear (let us not forget Bubu).
Epic time to rejoice once again, “A View” offers an orchestral and rhythmic foundation for Jones to emote vocally like only he can. His ability to plead, to beg, to steal and to borrow in his various inflections is absolutely masterful. Every single vowel and consonant are clear as the water in that lagoon on that island, where this stellar journey began. Talk about escapism, I have been somewhere else since the very first note, very track a joyful paradise.
“Harder to See” is next and it’s hard to imagine that the overt atmosphere keeps glowing like a spiritual fireball , ‘I sit and wonder! You have a plan and you can’, believe you me! An inquisitive sentiment on the complexity of confusion, of misdirection, of illusion, call what you want, its only words. The lamenting backing harmony vocals showcase the despair.
Being a prog archivist and having a ramrod strong memory of all my hundreds of concerts , “Rewind” seems to wander back to gentler times, as befits us old geezers who still feel comfort in a youth very well lived. There is quite the classic golden age of 70s Prog feel to this finale , a carefree time when labels were meaningless and overt criticisms wiped away by astonished eyes and ears, every occasion we walked into a record store or a concert hall. Even the smells remain vivid to this day. The empowering orchestral send-off with acoustic guitars, flutes and mellotrons in tow is plain orgasmic. Rael must be on a poster somewhere in the studio, its eerie and yet so utterly expressive. Perhaps it was due to the Fly on the Windshield.
5 things definitely worth remembering (who, what, where, when and why)