Independent (label)
22 October 2021 (released)
01 October 2021
There was a point in the eighties where prog turned away from the extended symphonic and overblown music and instead started to feature melodies, hooks and forms that appealed to a fanbase fed by MTV. Bands such as Yes, Genesis, Toto, Journey, Kansas were in the vanguard of this new form of prog and it ruled until the rise of Prog/Metal in the late eighties and early nineties.
This album by the Mentulls takes me right back to those days with a set of songs that are laden with great melodies and some stunning playing, harmonies to die for and riffs aplenty. It’s one of the most fun things I’ve heard this year but musically it is at a hell of a high standard too.
The Mentulls have had two previous albums with the last one – ‘Reflections’, released in 2015 -grabbing the attention of a lot of the press and listeners. It had a more Bluesey feel than this one, definitely more rock oriented, but Andrew and Jamie Pipe’s playing was notably excellent.
This time around they have added David Neil Crabtree on vocals alongside Andrew Pipe on guitars, Jamie Pipe on keyboards and drums are supplied by Wayne Proctor who also co-produced the album with Andrew Pipe and it was mixed and mastered by Wayne at the House Of Tone. Oli Brown does backing vocals.
The whole album has a fresh and lively feel, loaded with some great melodies and the guitar and keyboards mesh to create a real multi-faceted sound.
The first single ‘Easy To Walk Away’ is a delightful piece (already reviewed in Music-News) and it sets a tone for the whole album.
Andrew’s guitar lines are strong while Jamie’s keyboards give texture and height to the music, Crabtree’s vocals are perfectly matched, avoiding the lung-bursting screams of so many modern vocalists and the drum lines give great impetus and punctuation to numbers like ‘Smoke & Mirrors’.
Favourite tracks are probably ‘Smoke & Mirrors’ alongside the very Yes-like ‘Summit Fever’ and ‘Worlds Made Of Sound’ which has great riffs and a skittish bridge that lifts the track.
It is completely different from ‘Reflections’ but they have definitely developed and brought the sound of the band forward. A real winner
