All posts by Thaddeus Wert

High school math teacher and fan of all kinds of music, but most of all prog.
Republic of Letters

Steven Wilson’s The Harmony Codex

Harmony Codex

The always intriguing Steven Wilson has a new album coming out September 29: The Harmony Codex. Brad Birzer and Tad Wert share their thoughts on this new work by one of modern music’s most gifted artists.

Tad: Brad, I think you’ll agree with me that one thing we can expect from Steven Wilson is the unexpected. When he was in No-Man with Tim Bowness, he created an interesting amalgam of ambient/techno/pop that was unique. As the leader of Porcupine Tree, he spearheaded the resurgence of progressive rock in the 2000s that wasn’t afraid to pay homage to the “dinosaurs” of the ‘70s like Pink Floyd, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, and Yes. His solo career has been a rollercoaster ride – which I have enjoyed – where he has produced music in practically every style. I think he has deliberately worked to escape being pigeonholed as a “Progressive Rock” artist, and he asks his fans to simply appreciate him for his music, whichever mode it happens to be.

Which is my long-winded way of introducing our thoughts on his latest work, The Harmony Codex. The first time I listened to it, I wasn’t particularly struck by any song, as I immediately was with his earlier album, To The Bone. But then I listened again, this time with headphones, and holy cow! This is an amazing album. It really came alive when I heard the songs in the soundstage Wilson has crafted.

Brad: Tad, thanks so much for staring us off on this conversation.  As always, my friend, it’s an honor to talk music with you.  

I have not yet listened to The Harmony Codex with headphones.  What an excellent idea.  Maybe tonight I will do that.

In the meantime, I have listened to the album (so graciously provided by Steven Wilson’s PR firm) numerous times since we received the review copy the other day.  In some weird way, it’s become a part of me this week.

I agree with you that it didn’t do much for me on the first listen.  In fact, I thought it way too overproduced.  Our own Carl Olson has likened it to Kate Bush, but it struck me as far more Tears for Fears, Elemental-period.  I’m not sure I would say this now after so many listens, but I also wouldn’t say at this point that it’s overproduced.  The album has truly grown on me to the point that I absolutely love it.  Again, I couldn’t imagine the past week without it.  I am jealous of those who were able to hear the album in an Atmos-equipped room.  That must’ve been quite the experience.

I guess this takes me back, personally, to my own musical “relationship” with Steven Wilson.  I first heard “Trains” on an album rock radio station while doing some shopping in northern Indiana over two decades ago.  I immediately went to a very good store in Fort Wayne and purchased In Absentia as well as Up the Downstair Case and Signify.  Yes, it was a very good CD shop!  A kind student, finding out my new found-love love, then gifted me with Stars Die: The Delerium Years.  

I fell in love with Wilson and then proceeded to buy everything I could from him–everything from his contribution to OSI, to his No-Man work with Tim Bowness, to his later Blackfield albums.  When his first solo album, Insurgentes, came out I was thrilled.  

I now, twenty-one years later, have a huge Steven Wilson collection.  Everything he has written directly as well as probably 95% of what he’s remixed for other bands.  And, of course, I happily own the deluxe edition of his autobiography, etc.

All of this is a very long way of admitting, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Wilson on this new album.  To me, the absolute height of his profound musical ability can be found in Hand.Cannot.Erase, what I think is my second favorite album of all time.  His lowest point, though, was The Future Bites.  At least to me, though I know there are good things on that album.  Yet, the whole project came off as cynical.

Still, I very much worried that The Harmony Codex would be The Future Bites, Part II.  I am so very thankful that Wilson took his music in a different direction.  While I think The Harmony Codex shares some production values with The Future Bites, it is an album that stands on its own, far closer to, say, Grace for Drowning than to The Future Bites.

Anyway, I eagerly await the deluxe edition of The Harmony Codex I ordered from Burning Shed.

Tad: Brad, my love affair with Wilson’s music followed almost exactly the same path as you – I bought Fear of a Blank Planet, because Alex Lifeson of Rush played on it. I was hooked, and I quickly picked up every album I could find that Wilson was connected to. It didn’t hurt that Snapper/KScope was reissuing all of No-Man and Porcupine Tree at the time. Like you, I was exposed to OSI through Wilson’s vocals on their debut!

As far as The Harmony Codex goes, I wouldn’t say it’s his best, but it is very satisfying to listen to. I would like to know who and what influenced him while he was composing the music for this album. I hear Middle Eastern motifs in the first track, Inclination, classical minimalism in the intro to Impossible Tightrope, which then morphs into a jazz/rock fusion workout that sounds like something Herbie Hancock might do in the early ‘70s. The title track sounds almost baroque in its melody. For me, the weakest song is the single, Rock Bottom, but the other songs have set a very high bar. I think my favorite is the closing track, Staircase: nine and a half minutes of beautiful music that held me riveted from beginning to end. The break that features the bass bursting out of the mix is incredible!

You’ll notice that I haven’t spoken much about the lyrics – as I mentioned in an earlier dialogue of ours, a song’s melody has to attract me before I’ll invest any time in pondering the words. Wilson’s lyrics can be problematic for me, particularly from earlier in his career, because they dwell on some very dark subjects. In Absentia, for all its pleasant melodies, is about a serial rapist/killer. And I agree Hand.Cannot.Erase is an outstanding work of art. However, its subject matter – a young woman who dies alone in her apartment and isn’t missed for months –  is so heartbreaking that I have a hard time listening to it! You’re the lyrics man, so what are your thoughts on Wilson’s words in The Harmony Codex?

Brad: Yeah, Wilson can be really, really creepy when it comes to his lyrics, and he’s previously been obsessed with truly dark subject matter.  On not just one album, but several, he follows killers, drug addicts, and other miscreants.  

Hand.Cannot.Erase works so well for me, because he does have some hope at the end of the album, and I think he nails grief perfectly on that album.

As such, I think the weakest song on the new album is “Actual Brutal Facts.”  I can’t quite make out all the lyrics, but the muffled distorted  voice weirds me out quite a bit.  I like the music to the song, but the lyrics seem chilling.  Maybe I’m wrong on this, as I’ll need to wait until I see the lyric sheet.  As it is, the song tires me out.

And, Tad, I must admit, I’ve not been able to understand all the lyrics on the new album, so I can’t really pass judgment on them.  I will have to wait for the physical album to pass any real judgments.

Wilson employs that same creepy voice on the final track, “Staircase,” but it doesn’t seem as oppressive on this one.  In fact, I agree with you, Tad, this is an excellent track.

Maybe my ultimate answer to you about the lyrics, Tad, is this.  My favorite track on the album is the instrumental, “Impossible Tightrope.”  In an interview, Wilson mentioned that he followed Mark Hollis’s lead (from Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock) in recording far more than needed and then edited the various pieces and contributions together.  He said the “Impossible Tightrope” on the bonus cd of the deluxe edition will sound very different from the one released on the main album.

Tad: That’s very interesting that Wilson openly talks about late-era Talk Talk being a big influence – I hope he does a surround sound remix of Spirit of Eden. That would be a dream come true for me!

I’ve been listening to The Harmony Codex a lot the past 24 hours, and I have a new favorite track: “What Life Brings”. It’s the shortest one on the album, and it has the prettiest melody Wilson has composed in years. Just when you think it’s going to be a predictable, fairly pedestrian song, he introduces a slight modulation in the key that raises it up to a thing of beauty. Wilson is the master of that.

I agree with you about “Actual Brutal Facts” – it leaves me cold. It sounds like he’s trying his hand at hip hop, and it doesn’t work for me. That said, on the whole I think The Harmony Codex is one of Wilson’s better albums. It has a nice flow overall, while covering quite a few different styles of music. It’s definitely “proggier” than his previous two albums. Personally, I enjoy his explorations into various styles – he’s such a gifted musician, anything he does sounds good!

Brad, as always, it’s a blast to do a dialogue with you – your enthusiasm and brilliant writing raises the bar for me!

Republic of Letters

Frost*: A Million Reasons to Love Milliontown

Milliontown

Greetings, Spirit of Cecilia readers! In this post, Brad Birzer and Tad Wert discuss a classic prog rock album that is a mutual favorite of theirs: Frost*’s debut, Milliontown.

Tad: Brad, I have you to thank for making me aware of this wonderful album. I think you mentioned it in some social media post years ago, and I replied, “What’s Frost*?”. You immediately sent me a link to a video of Jem Godfrey and Dec Burke playing an informal duet performance of Hyperventilate, and I was hooked. Fortunately, I was able to snag a copy of Milliontown before it became unavailable. 

So, Brad, to paraphrase John J. Miller, host of The Great Books podcast, “What makes Frost*’s Milliontown a great album?”

Brad: it’s always good to start with John J. Miller, bookmonger extraordinaire and a man possessing excellent taste in music!  He’s also great to have a beer with.  Someday, Tad, we have to get you up to Hillsdale so you can meet your true brothers!

As to what makes Milliontown such a great album–there are, throughout the album, a million things going on at once, and it all could’ve readily have devolved into pure chaos.  But Frost* always holds all things together.  Indeed, it’s the genius of the band.  And, by the time we’re immersed in the opening track, “Hyperventilate,” we’ve been happily flooded with a wall of sound as well as outrageous digressions.  Again, though, it all comes together as a beautiful whole.

I’m really glad I sent you that video of Godfrey and Burke.  To me, that clip captures the essence of Frost*.  Playful yet professional. 


Back to Milliontown as an album.  Strangely, the first time we hear a human voice on the album, it’s a distorted recording that opens track two, “No Me No You,” and then the singer sings with absolute urgency.

Things slow down considerably with “Snowman,” track number three.  This song has almost a ballad feel, something that could’ve been from Genesis’s And Then There Were Three.

Things revive, rather seriously, with track four, “Black Light Machine.”  Yet, the lyrics are dark–about a psychopath.  The lyrics here really get into Steven Wilson territory.  Still, this is probably the poppiest song on the album, even though it’s a little over 10 minutes in length.  Again, a paradox of Frost*–combining the poppiest tunes with the darkest lyrics.

The hyperness of Frost* continues with the penultimate track of the album, “The Other Me,” a funky prog song, sounding a bit like Thomas Dolby and a bit like mid-period Tears for Fears. [the order of these songs, by the way, is different on different releases of the album.  My review, here, reflects the song order as on 13 Winters]

And, of course, this brings us to the greatest track of the album, the magisterial 26-minute, “Milliontown,” Frost*’s equivalent of “Supper’s Ready” by Genesis.

So, Tad, what makes you think this is a great album?  And, what are your thoughts about the individual songs?

Tad: Brad, for me the test of whether an album is great or not is simple: do I listen to it again after my initial experience of it? When I get a new album, I typically enjoy it for a week or so, giving it half a dozen spins. After that, it gets filed away and I’m unlikely to pull it out again. Some albums, though, stand the test of time, and I never tire of them. Genesis’ Abacab, Yes’ Going For The One, Big Big Train’s The Underfall Yard (among other BBT masterpieces), Glass Hammer’s Ode To Echo, Spock’s Beard’s V, Gazpacho’s Night, Steven Wilson’s The Raven That Refused To Sing are all albums that I return to again and again, and I always find something new to delight in. Milliontown also falls into that group.

I think it’s the perfect balance of pop appeal with the – as you so aptly put it – barely controlled chaos that makes this album so compulsively listenable. “The Other Me” is a great example of this – it features a chorus that begs to be sung along to, while underneath all kinds of weird noises are percolating and bursting out at odd times. Atonal, screaming guitars compete with beautiful piano lines, while the vocals veer from a whisper to a scream. It is a raucous, glorious roar of music, and I love it.

“Snowman” is another favorite. As you mentioned, it slows things down, with its very simple, almost childlike melody, but I’m a sucker for a pretty tune, and this is one pretty tune! Jem Godfrey’s production is perfect, keeping things relatively spare and open, which allows the vocals to feel more intimate.

I agree with you that “Black Light Machine” is very poppy, and I love that. It’s just an aural rush of exhilaration, which, of course, belies its dark subject matter. No matter, I enjoy every second of its 10+ minute length. Dec Burke’s guitar solo is outstanding here, as well.

And then there is the epic title track. Wow! Burke’s vocals at the beginning are simply haunting, while Godfrey’s keyboards carry the gorgeous melody. I am in awe of how so many perfect melodies spill out in the course of this one song. Godfrey was definitely plugged into his muse when he composed this song. The time flies by every time I listen to it –  there’s a frantic, swirling climax of everyone hurtling to a final whoosh!, and when you think it’s over, Jem closes things out with a very sweet coda on solo piano.

In his notes to the reissue set of Frost*’s first three albums, he says that he wasn’t happy with the original mix of Milliontown, so he rerecorded some parts and remixed it. I have to agree that as good as the original version was, the new version that was released in 2020 is better. 

Like Glass Hammer, Frost* has featured a rotating cast of members, but the one constant, Jem Godfrey, has meant that there has always been a recognizable Frost* sound. I think the current guitarist/vocalist John Mitchell is a terrific partner for Godfrey, but Burke’s work on Milliontown is superb.

Brad: Wow, Tad, this is an awesome response.  You really nail the genius of Frost*. Thanks for your comments about the individual songs, especially.

And, you’re right, of course, the band really centers around Jem Godfrey and his rotating cast of brilliant musicians.  

Have you had a chance to listen to Island Live yet?  “Milliontown” sounds just as wonderful live as it does in the studio, though the vocals are a bit muted on the recording.

I’m also in complete agreement with you about what makes a great album.  I’m with you–most albums get a few weeks of time on my playlist, then get filed away.  I have shelves as well as boxes of CDs–my favorites displayed in a glass cabinet.  

Certain albums, though–and your list is very close to mine–find themselves in constant rotation, and I come back to them frequently.  I would also put Milliontown in that constant rotation category, though, frankly, every Frost* album fits in this category.  I probably come back to Falling Satellites and Day and Age as often as Milliontown, especially when I’m on not infrequent long car drives.

A few months ago, I posted my top 200 albums–all ones I consider more than mere moments of time.  Frost* featured prominently.

I’m eager to know what the band is doing next.

Tad: Brad, I just finished listening to Island Live, and you are right – it sounds wonderful. The 2-cd/Blu-ray is already sold out, and it just came out in June of this year!

I also listen to Falling Satellites and Day and Age as often as Milliontown – the former is more pop, albeit a far more elegant strain than what passes for “pop” today – while the latter was my favorite album of 2021. Mitchell’s love of classic Police really comes through on that album.

Well, Brad, I think we’ve done Milliontown justice – I hope readers who are unfamiliar with it are moved to check it out!

Republic of Letters

Glass Hammer Takes Off For The Cosmos

Arise

Having just finished posting a discussion of three classic Glass Hammer albums, comes news of the upcoming release of a new album! Arise is the title, and it is a completely new direction – thematically – from the Skallagrim Trilogy that took up their previous three albums.

If there is one constant in the career of Glass Hammer, it is change. I am not aware of any musical group that is always pursuing new directions, both lyrically and musically as Glass Hammer. The miracle of them is the consistent excellence of their output, regardless of the path they take.

Arise is a sci-fi epic, and I mean a true epic. It follows the voyage of an android sent to explore some deep space anomalies. The mission is called Android Research Initiative for Space Exploration. As we travel with our android ARISE, we encounter exoplanets: some beautiful (Arion), and some seemingly malevolent (Proxima Centauri B). There is also a “curious anomaly detected at WASP-12” – a rift in space where mysterious entities bent on destruction are entering our universe.

Communications from ARISE eventually cease, but strangely enough, “inexplicable sightings of the presumed-destroyed spacecraft Deadalus have emerged.” I don’t know if this indicates that the saga of ARISE will continue or not, but it looks like there could be more to come.

Musically, the album is not as heavy as the Skallagrim Trilogy, but it definitely rocks. Wolf 359 features Hannah Pryor on lead vocals again and she sings beautifully over a relentless beat. Arion (18 Delphini b) is a bright, upbeat song featuring Babb and Pryor trading lead vocals. Mare Sirenum is a brief instrumental in the spacey “Tangerine Dream” mode that GH has become so good at producing. Lost begins as a bluesy jam and then transforms into a very ear-friendly tune sung by Pryor. Rift at WASP-12 is my current favorite track – it’s a blistering rocker with a great hook. Proxima Centauri B is slow-burning heavy rocker that has Babb’s terrific bassline mixed up front, and it sounds great. Arise clocks in at 11:44, and it is quite a good epic. It features Pryor’s best vocals on the album. The song slowly builds in intensity and when she sings, “So little time left to say this/So little time is left for anything/There is a light up in heaven/There is a light shining down upon man/See Him, know Him, love Him/See, feel/And know eternal truth” it is a truly cathartic moment. The album closes with a long instrumental jam that holds the listener’s interest from the opening note to the last.

Besides Hannah Pryor, Reese Boyd is back on lead guitar. Randall Williams handles drums, and overseeing the entire project is Glass Hammer’s cofounder, Steve Babb. He outdoes himself here, tackling keyboards, rhythm and lead guitars, bass guitar. percussion, and vocals. Cofounder Fred Schendel plays drums and guitars on WASP-12.

Musically, ARISE is a winner, offering moments of serene beauty as well as ferocious rock. Hannah Pryor really shines on vocals throughout, and Steve Babb is still the most inventive bassist in rock. The concept of the album fascinates me, as well. The hero of the saga, ARISE, is an android – by definition an artificial human. Yet, in every song, he (she/it?) seems capable of perceiving a spiritual reality. In Wolf 359, ARISE sings, “They say that God is watching over me/I’m not sure what He wants or what He hopes to see.” And in Arion (18 Delphini b), “Thank God I found it/Thank God you’re standing here with me.” At the end, even though communication from ARISE seems to have ceased, it appears that he is returning to Earth – perhaps in a resurrected form? Hopefully, this is not the last we hear from this tale. As with every Glass Hammer album, the lyrics provide much food for thought. 

Republic of Letters

Some Glass Hammer, Revisited

1 Comment

Hammer

In this post, Brad Birzer and Tad Wert have a conversation about a trio of classic Glass Hammer albums, Ode To Echo, The Breaking Of The World, and Double Live. Glass Hammer is a progressive rock group whose long career has encompassed many personnel and stylistic changes. The one constant has been the core duo of the group: bassist/keyboardist/vocalist Steve Babb and keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Fred Schendel. It’s no secret they are among Birzer’s and Wert’s all-time favorite musical artists.

Tad: Okay, Brad, I’m responsible for this topic of conversation. Over the past few days, I have been revisiting some earlier Glass Hammer albums, in particular the ones that feature Carl Groves and Susie Bogdanowicz on lead vocals. In my opinion, these three are a high point in the long career of GH – a career that has many high points! 

I know that many fans love the albums with Jon Davison, and they are excellent, but for some reason, the blend of Groves’ and Bogdanowicz’s voices are very appealing to me. I also appreciate Kamran Alan Shikoh’s outstanding lead guitar on these songs. This was, relatively speaking, a fairly stable configuration, with Aaron Raulston on board with drums. He’s still with them today, and I think his work has lifted them into the premier ranks of prog rock.

Brad:  Tad, I’m so glad you initiated this conversation.  You’re right, I’m a huge fan, and I have been ever since Amy Sturgis (an academic friend) introduced me to Lex Rex while we were at a conference in Princeton many, many years ago.  Crazily, it was also the same moment that I got Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief.  What a bizarre mix!

At the time, she told me about Steve and Fred and said I might like what they were doing.  And, here I thought I was the king of prog rock knowledge, and I didn’t–at the time–know about this seminal American band!  How mistaken I was!

Since then, I’ve happily taken the deep dive into all things Glass Hammer.  I even had the chance to have dinner with Steve Babb several years ago–one of the finest nights of my adult life.  He’s an amazingly nice and creative person!  I’m proud to count him as a friend and ally in this crazy world.  The guy is not just a wizard at bass and composition, but he’s an accomplished novelist, father, husband, and band leader.

For what it’s worth, I even take some considerable time to thank Steve (and Big Big Train as well) as huge inspirations for my book project on Tolkien and the Inklings.  Truly, Glass Hammer and Big Big Train were the essential soundtrack to that book.

Given the long history of Glass Hammer–dating back to 1992!–the albums (all wonderful) you selected are what, I guess, we would call mid-period Glass Hammer.

I’m a huge fan of all three, and I think that Double Live especially showcases everything wonderful and mighty about the band.  Groves and Bogdanowicz are in rarest fine form, and I’ve rather publicly and happily proclaimed Bogdanowicz to have the single finest voice in prog rock next to the late David Longdon’s.  I still think this.  It doesn’t hurt that Susie is also a knock-out.

I know that lots of folks like Jon Davison, but, frankly, he’s just a little too effeminate and fey for my tastes.  I tried recently to listen to the new Yes album, and I couldn’t get past the first song.  Give me Groves and Bogdanowicz any day!

Tad: Brad, I agree with you about Double Live. Most concert DVDs I have I’ll watch once or twice, but rarely more. I have watched Double Live at least half a dozen times, and here’s the interesting thing – there are no flashy special effects, lasers, or smoke machines. It’s just six very gifted musicians at the top of their form, presenting a terrific set of songs. They exude relaxed confidence, and they obviously love playing with and off each other. I wish this lineup had lasted longer!

Okay, here’s another reason I picked these three albums to revisit: I think they contain some of the best lyrics GH has come up with. Let’s face it, even with just Babb and Schendel, they have an embarrassment of riches – both are extremely literate and thoughtful lyricists, who assume their audience has the intellectual capacity to appreciate their work. That said, I think Groves sets a pretty high bar on the songs he co writes, and spurs Babb and Schendel to even greater heights on their lyrics. For example, here’s some of Groves’ lyrics to Garden of Hedon (off of Ode To Echo):

The Garden welcomes you, ma’am

Please sit down and find twice as much as you’ll eat

Cornucopia of desires

Lying there at your feet

The Garden welcomes you, sir

Please relax and find everything you want

Very little of what you need

No bread, no water, no God

Or these from Bandwagon (off of The Breaking of the World):

“We care!” Isn’t that what you said from your ocean-front home?

I know it’s got to make you feel so much nicer

“Go and be warmed.” Oh such warm charity

And these words still with no action will soothe you

Soothe you

If that isn’t a prescient condemnation of our current plague of empty virtue-signaling, I don’t know what is!

Brad: Yeah, Glass Hammer is prog for the intelligent listener, and given that prog is already rock for the intelligent listener, GH is really, really special.  More on that in a moment.  

My only complaint about Double Live is that it’s only available on DVD.  I would love a blu-ray edition, especially given the fact that Steve and Fred are two of our greatest audiophiles.  Can you imagine what the blu-ray sound quality would be like?  Simply excellent.

One of my deepest dreams is to have Glass Hammer play at Hillsdale, especially given how outstanding our music program is.  The band could use our existing choral students.  Oh, this gives me goosebumps even thinking about it.

Back to lyrics.  I’m in absolute agreement with you, Tad.  These albums just exude a powerful confidence.  Babb has such a fictional and mythic quality to his lyrics.  Here, for example, is Babb on “Ozymandias”:

The sculptor ‘neath his gaze

‘Twould be a monument of praise

Thus he enshrined the royal sneer

Of him, this Tyrant-King of Fear

I kneel to wipe away the dust of years

With trembling fingers trace the words

Found etched upon its base

They said, “I am King of Kings

See my works and know despair!”

Yet broken now he lies forgotten!

Let’s turn and leave him there

Nothing remains but this colossal wreck of stone

Round it boundless, bare stretch wide the desert sand

Forgotten, he lies

Here, his legacy dies

On “Mythopoeia,” Babb readily captures the essence of J.R.R. Tolkien’s poem of the same name and the speech given by the grand professor at the University of St. Andrew’s in the late 1930s, “On Fairy Stories.”

Maker of myth with your rhyme you weave

A tapestry of tales untold in recorded time

And though the shadows draw near

He writes as if he sees the world bathed all in sunlight

Can he keep the fеar at bay

In hope of day eternal

Hе’s dreamt of a paradise

Ruled by a thing infernal

Sub-create!

A mortal yet strives in his fallen state

He fills his world with monsters

They hide round each corner

Plotting wickedness, wreck and ruin

He fills his world with monsters

For monsters filled his world

One last thing–at least for now–about Ode to Echo and Breaking of the World.  The art for each is simply gorgeous.  For whatever reason, I didn’t buy the t-shirt for Breaking of the World, but I proudly wear my Ode To Echo t-shirt.  Indeed, over the last couple of years, I noticed I was the only one wearing a Glass Hammer t-shirt at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and at Yellowstone.

Tad: Brad I’m glad you shared Babb’s lyrics to Ozymandias, which is the perfect ending to Ode to Echo. And yes, the art for both of these albums is some of the best in their career. One last thing I’d like to mention – in Ode to Echo, they include a marvelous cover of Goffin/King’s Porpoise Song, from The Monkees’ Head soundtrack. What a great song from the psychedelic ‘60s, and they improve on the original. In their earlier album, Three Cheers for the Brokenhearted, they covered the Zombies’ classic, A Rose For Emily; it would be great if Babb and Schendel recorded an entire album of their psychedelic favorites!

Well, my friend, hopefully our paean of praise for this brief period of Glass Hammer’s career will spur our readers to investigate these albums. It’s been a blast revisiting them with you!

Republic of Letters

Rhys Marsh Finds Solace In “Towards the West”

Rhys-Marsh--Towards-The-West

Greetings, loyal Spirit of Cecilia readers! Brad Birzer and Tad Wert engage in another music-related discussion, this time focusing on Rhys Marsh’s latest album, Towards The West.

Tad: Brad, thank you for suggesting we do a dialogue on this album. As I listened to it, I was almost overwhelmed with its spare, emotional vulnerability. I visited Marsh’s website, and he explains there that he recorded this music not long after his father passed away. 

Brad: Thanks so much, Tad.  I’ve been a fan of Marsh’s for a while now, ever since I first heard his Karisma release, October After All.  And, I really like his work with Mandala.  

But, I’m in complete agreement with you.  Even the length of Towards the West is intimate–at only 38 minutes long.  The album feels like it could’ve been the funeral service for Marsh’s father.  It has an intimate aspect, but it also has a holy aspect to it.  

You’re absolutely right, I think, to call out its “spare, emotional vulnerability.”  The music strikes me very much as a mix between Mark Hollis’s solo album from 1998 and Kevin McCormick’s acoustic music.  It’s holy, haunting, and ethereal.

I really like the lyrics as well, and I’m glad Marsh decided to let the song lengths be whatever they needed to be.  So, on this album, we have 2 minute tracks and 10 minute tracks.  Every song is exactly what it needs to be.

What do you think of the lyrics, Tad?  I find Marsh one of the best lyricists out there.  Everything he writes is meaningful, and given that this is a tribute to his father, the lyrics are especially meaningful.  Certainly, I’d be honored if one of my kids wrote about me at this level!

Tad: Brad, I’m glad you mentioned the 38 minute length of Towards The West. One of the banes of the compact disc era, in my opinion, was the temptation to fill its 75-minute capacity with music. That’s great for classical music, but for rock – even prog with its epics – 75 minutes listening can be exhausting! So, yes, the relatively short length of Towards The West just adds to its heft. Okay, rant over.

As far as the lyrics go, I agree that Marsh has a true gift. You and I differ in this respect: I am drawn to melody first, then lyrics, whereas I believe you’re the converse of that. Marsh’s vocals here are extremely prominent in the mix, which means the lyrics are front and center. I listened to the album through headphones, and it was almost as if he were whispering in my ear. 

There are many gems to be treasured here. I particularly like “Your words will never fade/Our love will always stay”, from It’s Like You Always Said. That song also includes a cassette recording of Marsh’s father speaking. Another lyric is “We think of you and all the years we spent together/The things you’d say, and how we’d laugh…You picked me up when I was down and you helped me to see/The things that matter and those that don’t”, from We’ll See You Again. It sounds mundane, but it’s really profoundly touching when Marsh sings it. My own father loved nothing better than to crack a joke and make those around him laugh, so I could immediately connect with Marsh there.

Brad: Despite being a father to seven kids, I never knew my dad.  I was only two months old when he died.  My older brothers were age 8 and 5 when he passed away.  So, I love stories of dads!  I love hearing that your dad always wanted folks to laugh.  And, I really appreciate Marsh’s tribute to his father.  The album truly is moving, and the more I listen to it, the more taken I am with it.  It really does grab the listener from the opening notes and carries him/her through to the very end.  

I think my favorite part is toward the middle and end of “Cauterise” as the music builds up so perfectly, so beautifully.  By this point in the album, Marsh has earned the right to give us a wall of sound.  Especially after how spare the earlier parts of the album are.  It really is an amazing buildup.

And, again, this takes me back to an earlier point (made above).  This is truly an album.  Not just a collection of songs, but a coherent and cohesive concept album, a work of art from beginning to end.

I also really love the spiritual quality of “We’ll See You Again.”

Anyway, Tad, Towards the West  is truly one of my favorite releases of the year.  I’m not exactly sure what Marsh means by the title of the album, but it has a Tolkienian feel to me–Frodo, Bilbo, and Gandalf departing for the Blessed Realm.

Tad: Yes! Towards the West is an album, not a random collection of songs. Before we close, I’d like to single out Marsh’s choice of instrumentation for some appreciation. It’s primarily acoustic, with a lot of piano. Most of the time, things are relatively hushed and intimate; which, given the subject matter, makes sense. When Marsh introduces electric guitar and bass, it’s always in service to the overall sound already established. I love the rawness of the music in this album. These could be demos, in a way – very well-produced ones, at least.

Okay, Brad, I think we’ve done Mr. Marsh’s new opus justice. Those interested in purchasing a hard copy can do so at Burning Shed, linked here.

Republic of Letters

Surf’s Up for the Lords Of Atlantis

Lords of Atlantis

Hello, Spirit of Cecilia music fans! In this post, Brad Birzer and Tad Wert discuss the recently released eponymously titled album by Lords of Atlantis.

Tad: Okay, Brad, you were the one who suggested we tackle this album, and I confess I was unfamiliar with it. When I first cranked it up, I thought it was a soundtrack to an Hawaii 5-O episode! It’s an interesting mix of surf music and prog, all instrumental. According to the House of Tabu website, it is a supergroup of sorts from the surf genre, bringing together guitarist Ivan Pongracic and drummer Dane Carter of The Madeira, guitarist Jeremy DeHart of The Manakooras and Aqualads, and bassist Jonpaul Balak of Surfer Joe and the Tikiyaki multiverse.

Tell me why you are so enthusiastic about these guys!

Brad: Dear Tad, I love doing these with you.  Thank you, my friend.  I’m sorry to be a bit late in responding.  We started college classes on Wednesday, I had a wedding on Friday afternoon, and, my oldest son, Nathaniel, returned for a year in Jerusalem today.  So, lots and lots of chaos in the Birzer household!

Tad, I will freely admit, I’m not in the least objective when it comes to the Lords of Atlantis.  I’ve had the privilege of meeting (briefly) Dane Carter, the drummer, and he’s a great guy.  But, my real bias is with Ivan Pongracic.  He’s not only one of my favorite colleagues at Hillsdale (he teaches economics), but he’s also one of my closest friends.  So, when I hear Ivan’s guitar’s beautiful Hawaii 5-0 style guitar, I think gentleman, friend, economist, friend, colleague, friend, fellow beer drinker, friend, and fellow cat lover!

I’m a huge fan of The Madeira (I even own a t-shirt!), and I’m an even bigger fan of Lords of Atlantis.  Ivan has been shaped by The Shadows, by The Beatles, by Pink Floyd, etc.  The guy is not only brilliant, he’s also the epitome of an artist when it comes to surf and prog.  He reeks of integrity.

I told him recently that I have a hard time reviewing his music, only because it’s instrumental.  When you and I review, I focus so heavily on lyrics, Tad.  As Ivan told me (and I believe him), instrumental just means “imagist.”  That is, each song is a color, each song is a chapter, and each song is a story.  I love that.

Tad: Brad, that is fascinating, and it explains why you are an evangelist for the Lords. Now that I understand that context, let me say that the first time I listened to their album, it was the guitar work that most impressed me. I can definitely hear shades of David Gilmour, especially on the song, Seaglass. As a matter of fact, I think that is my favorite track of the album. It’s a beautiful song with a wonderful melody. Barbary Corsairs is another winner, reminiscent of early Merseybeat music. Atlas is a roaring rocker that I like a lot as well. Throughout the entire album, Pongracic is a master of the lean and economical guitar phrase (sorry, I couldn’t resist!).

Also, let me mention how much I like the cover art. It has a fun retro feel to it, with its “In Stereo” flag at the top, and the 33 1/3 rpm at the bottom. Very cool!

Brad: Thanks, Tad, for indulging my passions and my friendships!  I agree with you completely about the Lords of Atlantis and the David Gilmour feel.  But, then, of course, there’s a HUGE Dick Dale feel and influence as well.  So. . . Gilmour, Dale, Pongracic.  Amazing trio!  Two things I’d like to add to this conversation.  First, like Pongracic himself, his guitar playing (and the playing of the entire band) is simply tasteful.  Taste just exudes from this music.  

Second, each song really is a kind of tone poem, awaiting our own visual interpretations.  When, for example, I hear “Barbary Corsairs,” I can’t help but imagine the corsairs floating illegally and unlawfully through the Mediterranean, wreaking havoc upon the civilized world.  Yet, again, there’s something so tasteful about the song, that I also can’t help but imagine Thomas Jefferson defending American sovereignty in the area and sending in the Marines to attack North African slave fortresses!  Or, when I hear “Libertas!” I can’t help but imagine the American patriots defending common law and Natural Rights against the oppressions of King George.  And again, when I hear “Chariots of the Gods,” I can’t help but imagine the various pantheons of the ancient world, all mixed and warring with one another.  Zeus, Venus, Jupiter, Aphrodite!  Which pantheon wins?

Tad: Brad, I agree that the music evokes wonderful visuals – “Eye of the Sahara” made me think of a camel caravan traveling across a dune in the desert.

Well, I think we can agree that this album is a real treat for fans of upbeat instrumental rock. They supply the tunes, the listener supplies the pictures!

Music

North Atlantic Oscillation’s United Wire

3 Comments

United Wire

A favorite music artist of ours is North Atlantic Oscillation. This Scottish duo have created an utterly unique and beautiful sound that manages to combine Beach Boys harmonies, Radiohead melodicism, and shoegazer walls of sound. They recently released their fifth album, United Wire, and it is a triumph. With songs varying from hushed, angelic voices to dissonant-yet-attractive noise, it is another reason why NAO are unparalleled in their ability to meld disparate musical elements into a stunning and immensely satisfying listening experience.

Once again, Brad Birzer and Tad Wert take some time to share thoughts on a much-loved group:

Tad: Okay, Brad, I have been smitten with North Atlantic Oscillation since their debut album, Grappling Hooks. As a matter of fact, it was my favorite album of 2010! And rather than succumbing to the dreaded “sophomore slump”, I thought their second album, Fog Electric, was even better. The Third Day maintained the high quality of their music. I should probably mention Sam Healy’s excellent solo 2013 record, Sand, which, for all intents and purposes, sounds like an NAO album to me. 

They left KScope Music and released Grind Show in 2018, which was a bit of a disappointment. Their consistently excellent releases up to that point, and the tremendous growth they exhibited must have spoiled me! Grind Show, while good, didn’t blow me away like every other album of theirs. So it was with some trepidation that I bought United Wire. I needn’t have worried; this is a tremendous return to form, in my opinion. What are your thoughts on it?

Brad: Dear Tad (how’s that for a traditional introduction?), I love doing these with you, my friend.  If anything, I worry that I’ll bug you too much about such dialogues!  I could definitely do one or more a week over the next year.

That said, you bring out the best of me.  

And, for all you readers out there, Tad may have formally introduced himself under the “Tad:” bit, but he actually wrote the intro (above) to this piece as well, and I can’t think of a better way of introducing the true beauty and excellence of NAO than what he typed: “utterly unique and beautiful sound that manages to combine Beach Boys harmonies, Radiohead melodicism, and shoegazer walls of sound.”  In a million years, or armed with 1,000 monkeys and their typewriters, I could not have captured the band so perfectly.

I will also admit this as well, I love Sam Healy, and it’s incredibly hard for me to be objective about him.  Granted, I don’t know him well personally, but he and I have corresponded a bit, and I think he’s just freaking brilliant.  

And, generous.  An example: I tried like mad to purchase a copy of the latest release, United Wire, through the internet, and the site continuously rejected my credit card (for those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been employed by the same place since 1999, and my wife also has an income–we’re not un-well off!) repeatedly.  I mentioned this to Sam on Facebook, and a few weeks later, I found a copy of United Wire waiting for me in my Michigan mailbox. Gratis!

And, what happened?  On the first play, I fell in love with the album.  Several weeks later, it’s still in constant rotation, and I think the world of it.  Whether it’s NAO or SAND, Healy knows music.  He lives it, and he breathes it.

Tad, I must admit–we, for once, disagree on something–I really liked Grind Show.  I didn’t think it was as good as the first three NAO albums, but I definitely liked it.  For me, though, at least prior to United Wire, the true masterpiece, a PROG MUST OWN, was Fog Electric.  To me, one can’t consider him or herself a fan of progressive rock at all without actually loving Fog Electric.  Grappling Hooks was brilliant pop (in the Tears for Fears vein), but Fog Electric was pure prog.

When Fog Electric first came out, admittedly at first, I didn’t get it.  Then, Kscope re-released it, and I was utterly blown away by it.  I would consider it, for me, a top fifteen ever rock album.  That is, going all the way back to Bill Haley and the Comets, NAO’s Fog Electric is one of the top fifteen albums of all time.

So, Tad, what do you think of NAO album no. five, United Wire?

Tad: Brad, I love United Wire. My credit card worked (ha!), and I bought the CD through MusicGlue, which also included a digital download. One of the options is a “merged” version, which has all of the tracks merged into one long one. I think that is the way NAO intended for the album to be listened to, and I really like it.

Matryoshka is my favorite track. It begins with a distorted and processed voice over a mechanized beat, and then it transforms into a beautiful piano-based coda that I wish would last forever. Then the distortion tries to take over again, but the piano wins in the end.

Brad: Tad, I’m not sure I have a favorite track.  I love the whole damned (sorry for the expletive) thing!!!!  I would agree with you that Sam intentionally made the bandcamp release (which I bought)  one long track.  The album really, really works.  As in, really, really, works!

Tad: Oh, I agree. As I mentioned earlier, I think the way we’re supposed to listen to it is as one continuous suite of songs. Sam Healy is a musical genius when it comes to composing melodies and arranging instrumental accompaniment. At first listen, you think there is something wrong with the tape speed, then you realize it’s been deliberately slowed down and sped up. And it works! Drum and percussion bang out frenetic beats while angelic vocals float serenely above the chaos. Underpinning everything are electronic ambiences that sometimes come to the fore, but usually remain in the background. There are layers and layers of sound that keep the music endlessly fascinating.

Well, I think we’ve made clear our love for this band in general and this album in particular. You can purchase your own copy of it at MusicGlue or BandCamp.

Music

The Pineapple Thief Finds Their Way

TPT How Did We Find Our Way

The Pineapple Thief has just released a huge box set that reissues its first five albums along with two bonus albums. It’s entitled How Did We Find Our Way, and it includes remixed and remastered versions of Abducted At Birth, One Three Seven, Variations On A Dream/8 Days, 10 Stories Down/8 Days Later, and Little Man. There is also a Blu-ray disc that has 5.1 and Atmos mixes of seven albums. The discs come in a beautiful 64 page hardcover book with enlightening notes for every album from Bruce Soord, Jon Sykes, and Steve Kitch, as well as reminiscences of the band’s early years by French journalist Julien Monsenego.

Brad Birzer and Tad Wert are so excited about this release, they decided to do a joint dialogue/review:

Tad: Brad, it’s good to be doing another music review with you! 

I already had all the albums in this set from the versions KScope Music released earlier. However, based on the fact that there are quite a few unreleased bonus tracks in this new set, as well as the surround sound mixes, I bit the bullet and bought it. I have to say, I do not have any regrets! The new mixes are fantastic – they really open up the soundstage and allow every instrument to be heard clearly. What led you to splurge on it?

Brad: Dear Tad, my friend, it is great to be doing these reviews with you again.  Too much time has elapsed since our last such outing.  I blame myself–the summer has been wonderfully crazy.  Wonderful, but crazy!  Anyway, very glad we’ve got the band–so to speak–back together.

I’ve been a huge fan of The Pineapple Thief and Bruce Soord ever since Tightly Wound came out in 2008.  That was my introduction to Soord’s music.  So, coming up on fifteen years now.  That album, pop rather than prog, demonstrated to me the brilliance of Kscope.  I thought (and still think) that Soord created a genius album, a pop masterpiece, with Tightly Wound.  From there, I began to explore The Pineapple Thief’s music, going backwards in time.  Much to my joy, I found that I loved everything the band had done up to that point, but I was especially taken with One Three Seven and What We Have Sown (not included in this package).  Little Man, too, really grabbed me.  You might remember that 3000 Days came out right after Tightly Wound.  Though I’m not generally a “greatest hits” or compilation kind of guy, I loved 3000 Days, and it certainly introduced me to the best of Soord’s music. 

As to How Did We Find Our Way. . . I actually own all the early The Pineapple Thief cds as well, but I was happy to spend the money on these remixed and remastered versions, and I especially wanted the blu-ray.  So, I asked for the set for Father’s Day!  What are dads for???

Let me also state, at this point in our dialogue, that I absolutely love Kscope’s packaging.  When Porcupine Tree released their latest last year, I was sorely disappointed that they went with a company (Sony) other than Kscope.  I bought the album, of course, and I loved it, but I was very disappointed with the packaging.  Kscope, though, always does things with excellence, and I now have a very tidy collection of releases in this earbook (is this the right term) format from Gazpacho, The Pineapple Thief, and others.

Tad: Brad, it looks like our Pineapple Thief experience is remarkably similar. I too first heard them via KScope’s release of Tightly Wound, and I enjoyed it so much I sought out their earlier releases.

Okay, on to the current set: as I mentioned earlier, I think it’s worth buying just for the new mixes. In addition to them, though, we also get to hear all of these classic albums in 5.1 mixes, which is wonderful! I spent an entire afternoon reading and listening to them, and it was as if I was hearing them for the first time.

Also, there are quite a few very good bonus tracks that were not included on any of KScope’s reissues. One of my all-time favorite songs of Soord’s is Watch the World Turn Grey, which was included on the infamous 12 Stories Down – the album that Soord quickly pulled from the market because of mastering issues. It’s a beautiful little gem of a song that, for some reason, he never included in any reissue or compilation.

In the liner notes, Soord mentioned that, while going back and remixing his back catalog, he had neglected some songs that were actually quite good. Yes, Bruce! I’m glad we now have a complete set of early TPT tunes.

Speaking of the liner notes, I learned so much about the early history of The Pineapple Thief. I was really surprised to discover that the first three albums were basically solo albums recorded in his home. In the original albums’ credits, he made up names of musicians to make it look like The Pineapple Thief was a real group!

When Variations On A Dream was reissued by Kscope, I reviewed it on Amazon, and I wrote that Soord’s music would appeal to fans of minimalist composers like Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Arvo Part. Sure enough, in his commentary here for that album, he says that seeing an ensemble performing some Reich compositions was an important formative experience for him.

Before this set, if I had to pick a favorite early Pineapple Thief album, I would go with Variations On A Dream. However, after my marathon listening session, I am now thinking Little Man is the best. It takes on real emotional heft for me, now that I know the context in which it was written and recorded. In his commentary, Soord explains it was put together in the aftermath of the tragic loss of his prematurely born son. 

Are you able to pick a favorite, Brad?

Brad: Tad, thanks so much for your enthusiastic and very interesting response.  Great that we came to the band at the same time.  Obviously, the band’s switch to Kscope introduced them to an entirely new audience.

You ask what my favorite album is.  I must admit, I’m not entirely sure.  I’ve been listening to these albums for at least fifteen years, so they kind of have become just a part of my life, at least autobiographically speaking.  Re-listening to them again, especially in this new package, I find that I’m still relatively neutral when it comes to ranking them.  That is, they all seem rather extraordinary to them. 

Of this new set, though, I can state unhesitatingly that my favorite music are/is the “leftover” albums–Eight Days and Eight Days Later.  I love the idea that Soord spontaneously recorded each of these after finishing massive album projects.  There’s something deeply special, original, and wholesome about music so created.  It’s almost like giving rock a jazz-sheen.

Before we finish this review and dialogue, I also want to note that I’m a rather proud The Pineapple Thief fan.  This set shows that Soord was inventive from the beginning and that he possessed, again from the beginning, an immense amount of integrity.  It makes the more recent albums–I especially love Your Wilderness–shine even more.  Truly, Soord has progressed, but really from excellence to excellence.

Tad: I agree that there is something very fresh and endearing about the Eight Days and Eight Days Later albums. In my aforementioned Amazon review from many years ago, I made the same point. Soord seems to work well under pressure, when he isn’t able to “fix” every little detail of the songs. I think that works to their benefit.

Brad, thanks again for resurrecting with me our dialogues on music. And thank you, Spirit of Cecilia followers for reading! We are already planning to discuss the recently released North Atlantic Oscillation album, United Wire, so stay tuned for that!

Art, Faith, Film

Brad Birzer: Your Faithful Guide Through Mythic Realms

Mythic Realms
The prolific Dr. Birzer’s latest tome

Angelico Press has just published a new book by Bradley Birzer (where does he find the time to write all these wonderful works?) entitled Mythic Realms: The Moral Imagination in Literature and Film, and it is an unabashed love letter to everything that is good in contemporary American popular culture. I’m sure some of you are spluttering, “Everything that is good in American culture? There’s nothing good there!” Dr. Birzer would beg to differ, and for that we can all give thanks.

A quick look at the Table of Contents gives the reader a sense of the scope of Birzer’s loves. Here are just a few examples:

On Loving Libraries
An American Greatness: Willa Cather’s Oh Pioneers!
The Dark Virtues of Robert E. Howard
Romance After Tolkien?
The Audacity of Frank Miller
Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo
Batman on Film, Part I: Bruce Timm’s Animated Series
Steven Wilson’s Hand.Cannot.Erase: An Incarnational Whole

Clearly, his interests range far and wide! How many scholars can write intelligently on such disparate topics as The Inklings, Steven King, Russell Kirk, Alfred Hitchcock, a Batman animated series, and the prog rock wunderkind Steven Wilson?

But what makes Mythic Realms so much fun is Birzer’s infectious enthusiasm. When he gets going on a film or writer that he loves, he’s like a kid in a candy shop, and the reader can’t help but smile and join in. Take this example from his chapter on the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy:

“In Nolan’s expert hands, Batman becomes what he always meant to be: an American Odysseus, an American Aeneas, and American Arthur, an American Beowulf, and an American Thomas More….Batman resonates with us because he is the best of us and the best of what came before us. Bruce Wayne is the embodiment of western virtue and heroism.”

Wow, that’s quite a claim, but Birzer makes an excellent case for it. After reading his in-depth analysis of Nolan’s trilogy, I came away having learned many fascinating behind-the-scenes facts, as well as gaining a greater appreciation for Nolan’s vision of Batman as another enduring chapter in western civilization’s mythos – oops, I mean Mythic Realms.

I also was introduced to a great American novelist of whom I knew next to nothing: Willa Cather. Birzer devotes two chapters to this underappreciated writer, and I hope other readers will take the plunge and immerse themselves in her delightful world of the American frontier. As he notes, “The Great Plains unveil treasure after treasure to those who explore. The same is true of Cather’s novels.” Birzer fittingly compares her painstaking craft of novel writing to Steve Jobs’ attention to detail when designing Apple products.

One of my favorite chapters is Birzer’s tribute to John Hughes. I have long thought his run of coming-of-age movies set and filmed the 1980s was one of the most brilliant series of movies ever made. Hopefully, Birzer’s thoughtful tribute to Hughes will spark a reassessment of this overlooked writer/director/producer.

Not many cultural critics can write credibly and engagingly on writers such as Ray Bradbury, J. R. R. Tolkien, Willa Cather, comic book writer/artists Frank Miller and Alan Moore, film directors like Hitchcock, Nolan, and Hughes, let alone TV series such as Star Trek and Stranger Things, and THEN pull them together to make a deeply meaningful point: that even in lowly pop culture, truth, beauty, and transcendent Christian morality can be found. Birzer does it, again and again. That’s the joy of this book – discovering eternal truths in the most unlikely places.

The last chapter, Oh, White Lady: Faith as a Struggle begins with Birzer’s personal confession of his struggle during his youth to see anything except hypocrisy in organized religion in general and Roman Catholicism in particular. But through the example of devout friends and a growing appreciation for the role Mary, the Theotokos, has played in history throughout the world, he returned to his faith. It’s a fitting finale to a wild ride through Mythic Realms. After all, how does the old saying go? “All roads lead to….”

Music

Kite Parade’s Retro Is Great From The Get-Go

Retro

Kite Parade is a project of multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter Andy Foster, and Retro is the second album from them. I always enjoy discovering new artists that immediately hit that pop/rock/prog sweet spot such as Jonas Lindberg & The Other Side, Frost*, or Lifesigns, and Kite Parade is an admirable addition to that elite list.

Right off the bat, the first song, Retro, evokes the best of ’80s rock with a pulsing synthbeat while snippets of TV ads play in the background. Foster’s vocals remind me a little of Kyros’s Adam Warne. He has an unerring sense of melody throughout the song that had me hitting replay several times. 

Speed of Light, the second track, kicks off with a funky bass groove and propulsive melody that reminds me of classic OSI (Office of Strategic Influence). The brief loping guitar solo midway through is excellent and sets things up for the final, exhilarating chorus. Both Nick D’Virgilio and Joe Crabtree play drums on the album, and it sounds like D’Virgilio is playing on this song.

The next track, Wonderful, is the single (scroll down to watch the official video), and at first I thought it was a letdown from the joyous pop/rock energy of the first two tracks. It starts off sounding like many a generic ballad, but it slowly builds energy throughout. Then, at the 2:50 mark, Foster puts a nice twist in the melody that takes the song to an entirely new level. Keys and guitars trade solos, adding layer upon layer of sound that make this a standout song. Great choice for a single, guys!

The next two songs, Shadows Fall and Under the Same Sun, continue the winning streak. The former is a mini-epic, clocking in at more than 9 minutes. However, Foster’s gift for providing endless musical hooks makes the time fly by. 

Retro closes with the 14+ minute-long Merry-Go-Round, which deftly avoids any “hmm, how much longer?” thoughts in the listener. As a matter of fact, the entire album is such an enjoyable experience, I listened to it three times in a row without a break.

We’re almost a third of the way into 2023, and so far Retro is my favorite album. It’s a perfect mix of, well, retro synths, catchy melodicism, tasty guitar riffs, and pleasing vocals. If you’re looking for some nice ear candy with a prog rock feel, you can’t do much better than Kite Parade.