Esoteric Antenna (label)
23 September 2019 (released)
23 September 2019
Not your usual Prog fare – at the very least in terms of subject matter if not the music behind it.
Essentially looking at the polarisation of views, whether it is Climate Change believers vs Deniers or Brexiters vs Remainers, we are all dividing into one camp or the other and the subject matter picks this out quite cleverly and cogently.
Musically, it is sublime. Patterson & Melbourne are clearly very accomplished musicians and the music reflects their wide-ranging skills and styles. They have large slices of jazz in their makeup along with impressive rock and progressive elements.
A track such as ‘When The Evening Comes’ has a soft and soulful groove to it, many jazzy touches and superb production while ‘Next Generation’ has the expansive sound of late-period Genesis. ‘Making It Great Again’ – possibly the most overt political statement on the album – has a dark electronic backing over the keening refrain “Taking my country back, making it great again”.
It’s an album that offers lots of little insights; repeated listening gives up more and more of the layers of music and there were times when I found myself listening more to what was happening underneath the main themes than to the themes themselves.
Definitely one of the best listens I’ve had recently, complex and deep but also really enjoyable.
