Tag Archives: North Atlantic Oscillation

Those Awkward Teenage Years – The 2010’s, pt. 9: 2018

December 20, 2019 Thaddeus Wert 2 Comments

We’re getting close to the present day in our look back at the best music of the decade. 2018 was another bountiful year for prog fans, and, like 2017, it included a couple of surprise reunions along with some reappearing favorites.

We’ve chosen 15 albums to represent the excellence of 2018, so without further ado, here they are in alphabetical order.

Damanek’s second album is even better than their impressive debut. “Skyboat” sounds like a mid-70s Jethro Tull single, and the three-part “Big Eastern” is an epic telling of a family’s saga from their roots in China to their settling in America. Thanks to Damanek, I have become a big fan of Guy Manning.

Another sophomore effort that improves on an excellent debut. Evership II continues their championing of classic prog. Fans of Marillion and early Spock’s Beard will love this.

Gazpacho released one of their all-time finest albums in 2018 with Soyuz. Loosely based on the true story of a doomed Soviet Russian space mission, the music is uplifting, angry, and heroic.

There’s a reason a Glass Hammer album has been featured almost every year this decade: they have consistently produced great music! This entry to their catalog is a sequel to Chronometree, and it showcases their pop skills (think classic Todd Rundgren). “Fade Away”, the majestic finale, is one of their best.

Haken released a 2-CD/DVD set of a great performance in Amsterdam in 2018, where they play the entire Affinity album. Later in the year, they put out Vector, which made quite a few Best of 2018 lists. Haken are at the top of their game, with no sign of fading.

This was a nice surprise! Way back in 2005, John Mitchell (Arena, Frost*, Lonely Robot, It Bites), Pete Trewavas (Marillion), John Beck (It Bites), and Chris Maitland (Porcupine Tree) got together and recorded what many people thought was a one-off album. Lo and behold, they reunited in 2018 and released Radio Voltaire, which ended up being one of the best of the year. Like anything Mitchell is involved in, there are excellent tunes, superb guitar, and a dash of humor.

Tim Morse (no relation to Neal) quietly and carefully self-produces gems of albums every few years. Tim Morse III is a delight to listen to, and I hope he never stops creating music.

If you’ve worked your way through this series, you know that I like North Atlantic Oscillation – a lot. Grind Show doesn’t disappoint, as they continue to hone their unique sound that marries layered harmonies to synth-heavy music. Sort of like what would happen if Brian Wilson collaborated with Kraftwerk.

A fascinating set of songs from the Norwegian group Oak. I would classify it as chamber pop music. They even include “Clair de Lune” in one of their songs, but it doesn’t come off as pretentious. Highly recommended if you are looking for something pretty to listen to.

Wow. This is one of the best albums of the decade, let alone 2018. Vier means “four”, and the songs are divided into four groups: Guedra, The Golden Arc, Vibrational, and Anunnaki. The entire album is one long suite as various themes emerge, recede, and reappear. On their previous two albums, Perfect Beings incorporated some Beatlesque power pop into their music, but this is on another plane of music entirely.

Another surprise reunion. Maynard James Keenan’s side project A Perfect Circle released two incredible albums in 2000 and 2003, and a horrible one in 2004. It seemed like that was that, and they were done. Fourteen years later, they put out Eat The Elephant, which is excellent. Not as metal-oriented as their earlier music, but more subtle. Beautiful melodies and lyrics expressing barely controlled rage characterize this one.

Riverside survived the dreadful loss of Piotr Grudzinski, their guitarist, and released the very strong Wasteland in 2018. Set in a post-apocalyptic future, this album manages to be hopeful and uplifting.

RPWL started out as a Pink Floyd tribute band, which was obvious on their earlier Beyond Man and Time. On Tales From Outer Space, they just rock out and have a great time. I ended listening to this album almost more than anything else in 2018. “Not Our Place To Be” has a great hook that gets in your ear and won’t come out.

This is the album I actually did listen to more than anything else. It is sung in German, and the melodies are elegant art-pop. Here’s what I said in my original review: Schmid and Arnold’s melodies are beautiful and delicate, catchy without being cloying, and deceptively complex. The instrumentation is primarily keyboards based, and mostly acoustic. There are very tasteful synth flourishes and electric guitar solos, but none of them overwhelm the beauty of the underlying melodies.

The second outing by this band from Down Under consists of four epics, and there isn’t a wasted note anywhere. These guys are going to be prog superstars very soon.

That completes our look back to 2018. Honorable mentions are Big Big Train’s live set Merchants of Light, Gunship’s Dark All Day, Pineapple Thief’s Dissolution, Tesseract’s Sonder, and Umphrey McGee’s It’s Not Us.

Let us know what we’ve missed in the comments!

Music

Those Awkward Teenage Years – The 2010’s, pt. 5: 2014

December 16, 2019 Thaddeus Wert 2 Comments

We are well into our retrospective of the decade now, and in this post we will take a look at 2014. It was another fine year for music as some artists made their debut, and some seasoned veterans continued winning streaks. Once again, my selections are presented in alphabetical order.

Dave Bainbridge is a phenomenal guitarist who led the Celtic-prog band Iona in the ’90s. Celestial Fire is a massive album featuring several guest vocalists, including Damien Wilson (Threshold, Headspace, et al.). Bainbridge’s style is inventive and fluid, reminiscent of Alan Holdsworth, and Celestial Fire provides ample proof that he is one of the finest guitarists working today.

Elbow: The Take Off and Landing of Everything

Elbow has consistently produced excellent albums, and 2014’s The Take Off and Landing of Everything is one of their best. Singer Guy Garvey is blessed with a terrific voice, as well as a knack for literate lyrics. He broke up with his girlfriend while writing the songs for this album, and his emotional turmoil resulted in a beautiful work.

Second Nature proved that Flying Colors were a real group with a bright future. All the members of this prog “supergroup” meshed perfectly, and they came up with one the most enjoyable listens of the year. The positive chemistry between them is obvious from the opening song, “Open Up Your Eyes” through the closing epic, “Cosmic Symphony”.

Gazpacho released one of the darkest albums of 2014 with Demon. It purported to chronicle the tribulations of a demon hunter. The packaging and artwork is extraordinary – it looks like an old notebook filled with cryptic messages and arcane drawings. The music is excellent as well, creating an ominous sense of foreboding. Don’t listen to this one alone!

From darkness to light. Glass Hammer’s Ode To Echo is one of their finest albums from their long career. Vocalist Jon Davison transitioned out and Carl Groves took over with the welcome return of Suzie Bagdanowicz. Groves brings an interesting lyrical perspective to songs like “Garden Of Hedon” and “Ozymandias”. Song for song, I think Ode To Echo is one of Glass Hammer’s finest efforts, combining their pop sensibilities (“The Poropoise Song”) with their prog chops (“Misantrog”).

You have to give thanks for bands like IQ, who have proudly waved the prog flag since 1981. The Road Of Bones is a 2-disc set that is uniformly excellent. While the tone of the album is quite dark, the strong musicianship and songs make The Road Of Bones a very enjoyable experience.

Poland’s newpaperflyhunting made a splash in 2014 with Iceberg Soul. Postpunk minimalism, angular guitars, spacey vocals, and progressive themes all combine to make a very unique sound. You can buy their entire discography at bandcamp for less than $5! Give them a try if haven’t heard them.

North Atlantic Oscillation: The Third Day

The cover of North Atlantic Oscillation’s third album features a steampunkish compass/timepiece thingamajig, which is an apt visual for their music. Harmonies hearkening back to classic Beach Boys, crunching grungy guitars, massive bass lines, and delicate keyboard flourishes evoke rock’s distant past and indicate a promising way forward. Everything NAO has released is top-notch and utterly unique.

Based in Los Angeles and led by guitarist Johannes Luley, Perfect Beings debuted in 2014 with this delightful album. Sounding at times like long lost sons of the Beatles and Pink Floyd, Perfect Beings are unabashedly progressive while keeping their feet firmly planted in melodic rock. One of the best debuts of the decade.

Everything clicked on The Pineapple Thief’s tenth album, Magnolia. It contains a diversity of styles while remaining a cohesive work. It’s more well-produced pop than out-there prog, and that can be a good thing. “Alone At Sea” and “The One You Left To Die” are highlights.

The final album from one of the true giants of rock. It consists of outtakes and jams from when Richard Wright was still alive with some David Gilmour vocals added on top. Pretty much scraping the bottom of the barrel, compared to their earlier work.

Update: For a different opinion on Endless River, read Brad Birzer’s post.

A tremendous album by the long-absent prog supergroup Transatlantic. Kaleidoscope sounds like they never left, even though their last album, The Whirlwind was released in 1999. Kaleidoscope contains all the elements that make Transatlantic so special – ballads, huge epics, and outstanding musicianship. Opener “Into The Blue” is a fantastic song, as well as the closing title cut.

Coming off Ultravox’s triumphant Brill!ant, Midge Ure released the gentler Fragile in 2014. A true solo effort, Ure played, sang and produced everything. “Star Crossed” is one of the best songs he has ever written.

John Wesley is Steven Wilson’s go-to man when he needs a guitarist for his touring band. he is also a talented singer and songwriter in his own right, as Disconnect amply illustrates. Alex Lifeson even drops by to contribute a nifty guitar solo. Best track: “Mary Will”.

We finish our look back to 2014 with a somewhat controversial album: Yes’ Heaven and Earth. Jon Davison left Glass Hammer to handle vocals for Yes, and he assisted with the songwriting on this record. Fans’ reactions to it were mixed. Personally, I think it is a fine record. It doesn’t come close to their ’70s classics, but that is an unrealistic expectation. When taken as a pleasant musical offering, it is a solid effort.

So that completes our survey of the 2014 musical landscape. We are halfway through the decade! As always, let us know your favorites from this year in the comments. Thanks for reading!

Music

Those Awkward Teenage Years – The 2010’s, pt. 3: 2012

December 14, 2019 Thaddeus Wert 4 Comments

As I mentioned in Part 2 of this series, 2012 is when the floodgates open for prog releases. This post features 15 albums from that halcyon year, and it barely scratches the surface! So let’s dive into the great music 2012 had for us, in alphabetical order.

Anathema followed up the wonderful We’re Here Because We’re Here with the even better Weather Systems. Featuring a weather-related song cycle – “The Gathering Of The Clouds”, “Lightning Song”, “Sunlight”, and “The Calm Before The Storm” – Anathema produces a prog classic.

After a 2-year absence, Big Big Train returned in a big way with English Electric, Part 1. David Longdon is now fully integrated into the band, and his songwriting sparkles, particularly on joyous romps like “Uncle Jack”. One of BBT’s finest hours, ever.

All of the disparate styles Devin Townsend played with on previous albums is synthesized in this masterpiece. Power pop, metal, gospel -it’s all here in one big beautiful mess.

This album topped a lot of critics’ Best of 2012 lists, and rightly so. Every song is perfect, and “Some Memorial” may be the best they’ve ever done. This is a classic prog record that will still be lauded decades from now.

This effort from the prog supergroup comprised of Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Steve Morse, Dave Larue, and Casey McPherson was a very impressive debut. Everyone participating subsumed his personality in service to the group, and the result was a lot of fun – reminiscent of the best of ’70s arena rock.

This is a somewhat obscure gem by John Galgano, the bassist of Izz. It’s a quiet, beautiful, philosophical collection of songs that is truly charming. There is a lot of depth and solace in these songs.

Glass Hammer continued its winning streak with the third album to feature Jon Davison. Perilous is one long song chronicling the adventures of two children trapped in a, well, perilous land populated by malignant beings. The music is appropriately exciting and compelling.

John Mitchell (Arena, Frost*, Lonely Robot) took over It Bites’ reins for this marvelous concept album about a young man confronting his past and his tortured relationship with his father. “Wallflower” is one of his finest songs.

Arjen Anthony Lucassen: Lost In The New Real

Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, among many other projects) released this solo effort in 2012, and it featured his love of science fiction themes. Many years in the future a cryogenically preserved man is revived and brought up to date with all the changes that have occurred in society while he was frozen. Along the way, Arjen gives us a history of rock while an evil Rutger Hauer narrates. Great fun.

I’ve written a full post on this excellent band, and this is one of their best albums. It’s a perfect introduction to Mystery if you’ve never heard them. “Another Day” is a 19 minute song that ranks with the best epics in the genre.

North Atlantic Oscillation: Fog Electric

The second album by Kscope’s North Atlantic Oscillation still has their impossibly angelic vocal harmonies from the debut, but there is an undercurrent of unease in songs like “Savage With A Barometer”. Utterly unique sound, and one of the best albums of the decade.

The fourth (and final?) album from the Office Of Strategic Influence. Jim Matheos (Fates Warning) and Kevin Moore (Dream Theater, Chroma Key) collaborate on another fine collection that is somewhat somber but always melodic. If you need music for a rainy afternoon, O.S.I. is the perfect choice.

Another supergroup, this time composed of, surprise, producers. Trevor Horn, Lol Creme, Stephen Lipson, and Ash Soan (with a uncredited Chris Braide on vocals) combine to produce a wonderful pop confection. Too bad they only lasted for one album.

In 2012, we had no way of knowing this would be Rush’s final album, but what an album to go out on. It was meant to be the soundtrack to a Kevin Anderson sci-fi novel, but it works well as a standalone work of art. Rush pulled out all the stops on their tour supporting it, and it remains a high point of their career.

Ultravox Brilliant — Ultravox: Brill!ant

This was a complete surprise – after decades of inactivity, the ’80s synth band Ultravox reunited in 2012 and put together this terrific set of songs. It was as if they never left, still at the top of their form. If you loved Vienna and Rage In Eden, then this is a must-have album.

That’s 15 albums from 2012, and I could have added many more. District 97, Downes Braide Association, Gazpacho, Headspace, Izz, KingBathmat, Pineapple Thief, Porcupine Tree, Storm Corrosion, Threshold, Time Morse, and Yppah all released outstanding records. Let us know what your favorites of 2012 were in the comments!