Greetings, Spirit of Cecilia readers! Brad Birzer and Tad Wert have been impressed with the music of Norway’s Airbag. They combine excellent, Pink Floyd-adjacent melodies with thought-provoking lyrics. In the summer of 2024, they released their sixth studio album, The Century of the Self, which was one of the best albums of that year. Brad and Tad finally get around to discussing its merits – better late than never!
Tad: Brad, I absolutely adored Airbag’s previous album, A Day at the Beach, and the lead-off track, Machines and Men, is one of the best songs they’ve ever done. Now that they’ve followed up that triumph with The Century of the Self, what strikes you right off the bat with that album?
Brad: Thanks so much, Tad. It’s great–as always–to be reviewing with you. Yes, I very much love and admire Airbag, and I have from their beginning, whether on Kscope (briefly) or Karisma. They confirm what I’ve thought for ages, that is, a prog band is only as good as its bassist. Great guitarist, too. Great drummer as well. Love the keyboards, too. So, win-win-win-win. What a great band. An amazing band. I had to throw “amazing” into the mix, as I’ve typed “great” one too many times!
Granted, they wear their Pink Floyd love on their sleeves, but, frankly, I think that makes them even better. Very glad to have some Floydian music still being produced. And, yet, whatever the Floyd influence, it serves as an inspiration for the band. They’re not enslaved to it, but inspired by it. Strangely and perhaps paradoxically, the Floydian influence makes Airbag even more unique.
I didn’t realize they were already on their sixth album. Given their sheer output, as well as the solo output of Bjorn Riis, I find the music even more astounding.
So, what strikes me right off the bat? An excellent question, Tad. After having listened to the album a half a dozen times, I’m struck by two things. The bass and the lyrics. Both, extremely courageous. How about you?
Tad: Brad, you and I agree that a good bassist is essential to a prog band. I think of what Yes might be without Chris Squire, and it would never have been as groundbreaking and influential as it ended up. Or how about Steve Babb’s work with Glass Hammer? He is the key to that group’s greatness.
Along the same lines, Anders Hovdan does a terrific job anchoring Airbag’s music. A lot of their songs take time to fully develop, and Hovdan’s insistent bass lines provide interest for the listener. I love the way the entire group take their time building up a song. They often start out quietly, and they inexorably build in energy and sound until there is a most satisfying release. Their melodies are not overly complex or complicated, but I would certainly classify them as “progressive rock.
That said, I think Bjorn Riis (guitars and vocals) seems to be the main driver of Airbag. His songs always intrigue me. I’ve told you before that I have to like a song’s melody before I worry about the lyrics, but when I first heard the opening track on The Century of Self, I was immediately struck by the lyrics. They’re brief enough to share in their entirety:
Did you come here to find some peace and hide? Too much confusion in your head at times Don’t want to bend, conform, you’ll never obey Don’t want no part of this conspiracy
I see these people keeping their heads down Denying everything they used to be Don’t try to touch, don’t ever get too close They’ll make you suffer and they’ll make you bleed
Who do you feel you are today? Who will you crucify and slay? It’s driving me insane
Did you believe they’d ever let you go? There is no escape, there is no turning back You’re canceled now, they’ll cancel everything They’ll make us suffer and they’ll make us bleed
Who do you feel you are today? Who will you crucify and slay? It’s driving me insane
Brad, it seems to me this is a protest against the illiberalism of contemporary “cancel culture”, and that is a brave stand to take these days! So, I went back and looked through some of their previous songs, and there is definitely a consistent streak of individualism and a plea for personal freedom running through them. I think they are today’s version of a countercultural music group, and I admire them for that. I am really interested in your thoughts on their lyrics, since you are able to uncover deeper meaning from them than I usually do!
Brad: Yes, I totally agree, Tad. There’s something quite special in Airbag’s lyrics that call out for us to be more individual than we’re comfortably being in the current morass of society. I think Airbag is definitely protesting against the loss of free speech and free ideas that seems to have spread throughout Europe and the western world (America is not excluded). I suppose part of this is my age, but it’s hard not to look back at the 1980s and especially 1989 as a golden era in western civilization. Not only were we growing economically, but free societies were trouncing unfree societies. Despotisms and authoritarianism and totalitarianism were on the run. A pope and a president were beating the life out of them. Now, we sit in silence as our “betters” tell us what to do and what not to do. I wouldn’t have necessarily have expected protest to arise from Norway, but amen.
Those lyrics are worth repeating, Tad:
Did you believe they’d ever let you go? There is no escape, there is no turning back You’re canceled now, they’ll cancel everything They’ll make us suffer and they’ll make us bleed
And, then, of course, we’re not guiltless:
Who do you feel you are today? Who will you crucify and slay? It’s driving me insane.
Track two, “Tyrants and Kings” continues the libertarian themes:
Join the cause Say no to everything we fear Get used to lying You’re a prisoner now Take no stand There are no sides there’s only ours You shoot to kill You’re a soldier now
The “get used to lying” line brings to mind Solzhenitsyn’s note that all totalitarianism is built on lies. The huge lie of the society and all the little lies that one must employ to survive.
Looking through the lyrics of the remaining three songs, they too speak to the loss of individual dignity.
So, bravo, Airbag! Keep fighting the good fight. And, thanks, too, for the killer bass lines.
Tad: Brad, thank you for highlighting the lyrics to “Tyrants and Kings”! Yes, Airbag is a band that appeals to me both in musical terms and lyrical ones. That is quite rare these days. And, like you, I’m impressed these Norwegians are reminding the rest of us what is truly important.
So, gentle reader, if you are interested in excellent progressive rock with a Floydian flavor, and highly literate lyrics, do yourself a favor and check out Airbag’s latest album, The Century of the Self. You won’t be disappointed!
Glass Hammer has returned with a new album, Rogue – due out April 11, 2025. Not surprisingly, given the history of this group, it is a stark departure from their previous several albums. Where the Skallagrim Trilogy rocked very hard, and their most recent work, Arise, was an exercise in space rock jamming, Rogue is jumps out of the gate with a burst of pure melodic bliss.
After listening to Rogue nonstop for four days, I am put in mind of some of Glass Hammer’s most enjoyable musical moments, such as Life By Light (Culture of Ascent), Having Caught a Glimpse (The Inconsolable Secret), and The Curse We Weave (Three Cheers for the BrokenHearted), among many, many others. I am tempted to say Rogue represents a return to form, except Glass Hammer has never fallen out of form – each release of theirs is a self-contained gem of excellence. Instead, let’s just say Rogue is a joyful celebration of beautiful melody.
What If, the first track, sets the stage as the protagonist decides to leave his cold and gray home in the north and head south to find a long-lost love – he is hoping to reignite an old romance that he ended years ago. It is a bouncy song that conveys the hopefulness of our hero as he sets out.
Summer! He’s weary of sleet and snow
Summer! Come now and do not go
He’s heading south to the land of his dreams
The Road South is where reality begins to set in. Has he made a mistake leaving his home? Is that a storm ahead? Musically, this song is reminiscent of classic Alan Parsons Project to me. Oliver Day’s lap steel guitar is outstanding – graceful and fluid without sounding shrill.
Tomorrow is one of the most beautiful songs on the album. As our hero wrestles with the memories of all the wrongs he has committed in the past, a voice reassures him,
All will be fine
God is watching over all you do
His eye is on the sparrow and on you
The accompanying melody is appropriately soothing and calming.
Pretty Ghost and Sunshine feature the gorgeous vocals of Olivia Tharpe, along with another pair of winning melodies. On Sunshine, Fred Schendel gives an outstanding performance on lap steel guitar.
Next up is my favorite track on the album, I Will Follow. This is a driving, upbeat, infectious song with an unshakeable earworm for a melody. It’s one of the best songs in the entire Glass Hammer catalog, featuring layered harmonies that should be listened to on headphones to be fully appreciated.
The Wonder Of It All has a synth-driven opening that I find very appealing. One thing I’ve enjoyed over the past few albums has been Glass Hammer’s incorporation of Tangerine Dream-like interludes that feature very cool rhythmic elements. Lyrically, this song seems to be a turning point for our hero:
Oh, I’m weary, yet I’m blessed
For all you’ve given me
The wonder of it all, I’d have to say
That I was here at all
I’ve done so little to deserve
This life you gave me
One Last Sunrise is a terrific instrumental, and Babb really shines on bass and Taurus pedals. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Steve Babb is one of the most inventive bassists working in music today.
Terminal Lucidity, at 10:19, is the longest track, and it is primarily instrumental. Synths, electric piano, and electric guitar weave a seductive web of melody that draw the listener in before an energetic jam gets going. Eventually, it becomes clear that our hero is on his deathbed: “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust/I can hear them calling me”. It was a stark and chilling moment when I first realized the true journey being taken!
Rogue closes with the triumphant and joyful All Good Things. Another uplifting melody (underpinned by Babb’s terrific bass work) brings the story to an emotionally satisfying ending:
This life you gave me
I’ll bring it home, you know
Sunshine in the morning sky
Descending from on high
It seems that, for all intents and purposes, Glass Hammer is now primarily a Steve Babb project. He handles some lead and backing vocals, bass, keyboards, Taurus pedals, guitars, and percussion. Longtime musical partner Fred Schendel plays guitar on Tomorrow and lap steel guitar on Sunshine. Babb has collected a stellar cast of supporting musicians: Thomas Jakob and Olivia Tharpe on vocals, Reese Boyd, David Walliman, and Atillio Calabrese all take a turn on lead guitar, and Oliver Day does a phenomenal job on guitar and lap steel throughout. Ariel Perchuk contributes some excellent synth solos, while Randall Williams and Evgeni Obruchkov provide drum work.
Rogue is one of the most ambitious albums Glass Hammer has attempted, and they pull it off with ease – it is an unalloyed triumph in all respects: conceptually, lyrically, and musically. Taken as a whole, this set of songs is the most satisfying Glass Hammer has provided in many years. I can’t stop listening to it! Meanwhile, the concept of a man wrestling with the demons of his past as he faces death would be daunting for anyone to tackle, but Glass Hammer does it with grace and hope. I can’t recommend Rogue enough to listeners who appreciate and are looking for melodic rock that has depth. It’s my favorite album of 2025, and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
I’ve been into music—mostly progressive rock and jazz—for as long as I can remember. As I’ve mentioned before, my first love was YESSONGS—owned by two older brothers. I loved everything about it—the music, the lyrics, the art. It also just seemed like a super science-fiction project to my very young mind. I would’ve been six when YESSONGS came out.
After Yes, my second loves were Kansas and then Genesis. I encountered Kansas in 1975, sometime around age 8. In fact, living in Kansas, there was no escaping Kansas. Americans don’t often realize it, but Kansans are as proud of being Kansans and their fellow Kansans as Texans are about being Texan; they’re just not loud about it. So, yes, we lived and breathed LEFTOVERTURE and POINT OF NO RETURN.
Genesis, though, didn’t come to me until about 1978, me aged 10, when I fell in love with “Follow You, Follow Me” and purchased AND THEN THERE WERE THREE. That was one of the first albums I ever bought. Followed by DUKE, by ABACAB, by GENESIS. From there, worked backward to TRICK OF THE TALE and WIND AND WUTHERING and, especially, SECONDS OUT. I loved SECONDS OUT. I even had video recorded—through the USA Network—a concert from the SECONDS OUT period with Bill Bruford on drums.
I also really liked Peter Gabriel—especially SECURITY—but for some reason I was reluctant to take a deep dive into Gabriel-era Genesis. Honestly, I have no idea why, except that I so admired the Phil Collins period—especially TRICK and WIND.
I love the Peter Gabrel era of Genesis so much now, however, that I can barely remember a time when I didn’t love them.
So, right before I went to college (fall of 1986), I bought LAMB LIES DOWN ON BROADWAY. To state that my mind was boggled, would be an understatement. I knew “Carpet Crawlers” of course, but to listen to it in context truly floored me. At the time (remember, I was 18), I thought Lamb was either the greatest statement of prog ever written or a statement of chaos and madness. Either way, I wasn’t surprised that Gabriel chose to leave after making the album. Clearly, the album means something profound and deep in the history of prog.
It’s a strange album lyrically, as a young Puerto Rican male wants to escape from the corporate conformity imposed at every level of his life. Ah, you “progressive hypocrites.”
When Kevin McCormick—one of my all-time closest friends, a professional classical guitarist, a key contributor to this website—and I first talked Genesis (this would’ve been the fall of 1986), I expressed my love of Lamb, and he thought I was crazy. Only a true Genesis weirdo would like LAMB, just as only a true Yes weirdo would like TALES FROM TOPOGRAPHIC OCEANS. It was a funny conversation. Kevin, it should be noted, was the first friend I had who could talk music as much as I could. A high school friend, Joel, came close, but Joel was mostly into college rock and alternative music, not rock or prog. So, his opinion (or, given LAMB, his anti-opinion) really meant a great deal to me. Still, I continued to love LAMB as an act of mad genius.
Jump forward fifty years. . . and the mighty and awesome Dave Kerzner has recreated and recorded a brand new version of LAMB simply called IT. If you don’t know the work of Kerzner, you really should. He’s the great touchstone or fountainhead of our era’s (third wave or beyond) progressive rock. From Sound of Contact, through his solo work (NEW WORLD DELUXE and STATIC), through his work with In Continuum, Kerzner is a genius. He knows how to write the best lyrics, and he also knows how to write the best hooks. But, there’s one thing about Kerzner that often doesn’t get recognized. He’s a perfectionist, an audiophile at the level of Steven Wilson. Don’t get me wrong, Steven Wilson has one of the best ears out there. But, Kerzner’s is equally good.
He just gets sound.
As far as I knew there’s nothing that Kerzner has released that I don’t proudly own. So, when I heard he was remaking LAMB, I was absolutely thrilled. And, there’s nothing about Kerzner’s version that doesn’t satisfy me. From his production to its use of real strings, it’s a glorious masterpiece, so very worthy of its now-fifty-year old original. Kerzner is exactly a year younger than me, and while I don’t know him, I wouldn’t be shocked if he and I encountered the album in much the same way.
In every way, Kerzner has done justice to LAMB. For 1975, it was immaculately produced, but that simply can’t compare to the immaculate production of 2025. IT—Kerzner’s version—replicates the entire album, again always advancing the production, especially with live orchestration. Additionally, Kerzner offers a third disc with alternative versions of the classic tracks.
Even the band of IT is an all-star cast of current prog royalty: Kerzner, Francis Dunnery, Nick D’Virgilio, Fernando Perdomo, Billy Sherwood, and special guests.
Spirit of Cecilia readers, it just doesn’t get better than this. Whether it’s genius or madness, who can say? Except to note, there’s always a bit of madness in all genius, and a bit of genius in all madness. LAMB/IT is smack-dab in the center. Since Kerzner first sent me the tracks via Bandcamp, I’ve been listening obsessively. That obsession—part madness and part genius—will continue for sometime, especially as we approach the end of the semester and with finals starting to loom larger. . . .
Glass Hammer’s “Rogue” spins the tale of one man’s fateful, final journey. “He leaves everything he knows behind,” explains composer Steve Babb. “And thinks he’s returning to a place where he once knew happiness, but in reality, his odyssey will sweep him away to somewhere completely unexpected.”
Babb explains that the ten-song album explores themes of regret, heartache, and the mortal salience that comes with age. “Life is fleeting,” he continues. “It’s a heavy topic for an album, but the music isn’t as heavy as our last few releases. Rogue is much more like the Glass Hammer albums our fans refer to as “classic.”
And who’s in the lineup? “It’s no secret that Glass Hammer reinvents itself every few albums,” says Babb. “It’s happened again! This time with a lot of new faces.”
Rogue features performances by Fred Schendel, Reese Boyd, and David Wallimann (GH guitarist 2006-2010). Vocalists Thomas Jakob (Netherlands) and Olivia Tharpe (USA) are new to the band. They’re joined by guitarist Oliver Day (UK), keyboardist Ariel Perchuck (Argentina), drummer Evgeni Obruchkov (Poland), and others. “It’s an international cast of characters,” Babb points out. “A super-talented group that our fans are sure to love.”
The hour-long Rogue is Glass Hammer’s twenty-second studio album. Fans can pre-order autographed copies, t-shirts and downloads on the band’s website. www.glasshammer.com
Greetings, music lovers and readers of Spirit of Cecilia! 2024 is fast coming to a close, and the SoC crew would like to share their favorite albums of the year. There was a lot of great new music, terrific deluxe reissues, and releases from old favorites. Hopefully, our lists will lead to some albums you will love as well.
Brad: Tad, thanks for starting us off and inviting everyone to participate. Always great to write with you! I’ll just start with an alphabetical listing of my favorite releases of 2024:
“Dogs” by Pink Floyd, as done by Tim Bowness and Giancarlo Erra
Airbag, The Century of the Self
BBT, Flare on the Lens
BBT, The Likes of Us
Bruce Soord, Caught in the Hum
David Gilmour, Luck and Strange
Frost*, Life in the Wires
IZZ, Collapse the Wave
Tears for Fears, Songs for a Nervous Planet
The Bardic Depths, What We Really Like in Stories
The Cure, Songs of a Lost World
The Pineapple Thief, It Leads to This
The Pineapple Thief, Last to Run EP
The Tangent, To Follow Polaris
Tim Bowness, Powder Dry
And, I’m not even including vital re-releases such as the deluxe edition of Synchronicity by the Police; Fear of a Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree; Spectrum ‘97 by Phish; Lament by Ultravox; Bursting Out by Jethro Tull; or This Strange Engine by Marillion.
If I go just by my playlist numbers, I’d have to list “Dogs”, Frost*, IZZ, and, especially, The Cure. In fact, since The Cure first arrived, I’ve listened to almost nothing else. But, I went through such phases with Frost* and IZZ, too. And, really, I can’t recommend the single of “Dogs” highly enough. Bowness and Erra give it just the right beauty and creepiness that a proper Pink Floyd remake so desperately needs.
I must admit, though, I’m totally against the lyrical content of “Dogs.” I can’t believe our entrepreneurs are so bloodthirsty as this. Like or despise Elon Musk, for example, as you will, but he’s not bloodthirsty. In fact, if anything, I think he’d hate to “be dragged down by the stone.” And, he would hate to drag anyone else down by the stone. He definitely wants to win, but he wants to win fairly, by the rules established by society (unless all of society is corrupt, but let’s hope that Pink Floyd isn’t so Marxian as this). Maybe I’m wrong, however. Perhaps, I’m deaf, dumb, and blind, and that I keep pretending. . . Is this how Roger Waters saw his friendship/adversarial relationship with David Gilmour? If so, so very sad. For my money, give me Phish’s “Bouncing Around the Room” as the touchstone song dealing with entrepreneurship.
To be certain, though, I’m also a bit biased on the whole The Bardic Depths release. Given that I wrote the lyrics for it, I’m quite taken with it. Dave Bandanna did an amazing job in composing the music. So brilliant, so beautiful, so mystical, so joyful. Dave brings every song to life, and I’m always stunned to hear my own words given form and made manifest.
And, then, what’s not to love about the new David Gilmour? In fact, when he sings with his daughter, Romany, I’m completely taken. So much better than Dogs, co-written with Roger Waters.. Especially if you listen to something as glorious as “Between Two Points.” I would give anything to have such a relationship with my daughter that I could write something so gorgeous with her. Romany over Roger any day.
And, seriously, this brings me to all the incredible re-releases of 2024. Oh, to be “Prince Caspian” and float upon the waves. Oh, to be Prince Caspian. Dang, Phish was simply brilliant when they were.
I also want to single out Airbag. I don’t know their politics, but it strikes me that with this release, especially, they’re trying to combat conformism and cancel culture. I could be wrong, but I’m willing to take a chance that this is a brilliant counter-cultural masterpiece. One that shakes the conformists of the world to their very foundations. And, who wouldn’t love that bass playing and interplay with the drums? Genius. Thank God for the non-conformists of the world. Airbag sounds like Pink Floyd, in terms of legacy, but they are completely their own band.
If Airbag sounds anti-political, Robert Smith on the new Cure album, sounds confessional. Bless me, Father, I, Robert Smith, have sinned, and something wicked this way comes. Truly, the latest The Cure album is a masterpiece, a true sequel to Pornography and Disintegration. My love and respect for Smith only grows with age.
If Airbag is countering the world and Smith is confessing for us all, then IZZ is proclaiming the inherent goodness of each one of us. I’m not sure what the lyrics are all about on Collapse the Wave, but I feel that John Galgano and Laura Meade are asking us to look at our best selves. Rather than be dour, they find wonder. As far as I can tell, IZZ has been reading a lot of T.S. Eliot and a lot of John Paul II.
Tad: What a great list, Brad! Yours and mine overlap quite a bit, since we are often of like mind when it comes to music. Here is mine, based on how often I listened to each album:
8. Kyros – Mannequin
7. IZZ – Collapse the Wave
6. Jeff Johnson/Phil Keaggy – Spinning On a Cosmic Dime
5. Tears For Fears – Songs For a Nervous Planet
4. Airbag – The Century of the Self
3. Bardic Depths – What We Really Like In Stories
2. The Cure – Songs of a Lost World
1. Frost* – Life In the Wires
I’ve been a fan of Kyros’ music for several years now. They wed 80s sensibilities to 2020s expertise. Mannequin is another great collection of pop/prog.
Like you, I admire IZZ enormously. As far as I can tell, the lyrics to the title track are about quantum physics and faith. Who else but the Galgano brothers could pull off such an ambitious song? They definitely succeed.
Jeff Johnson and Phil Keaggy have collaborated several times before, and Spinning On a Cosmic Dime is the most lighthearted and fun of their albums. Johnson is a master of all keyboards – acoustic and electronic, while Keaggy is one of the finest guitarists alive today. When they get together, magic happens.
The Tears For Fears is primarily a live album, but the five new studio tracks are some of the best songs they’ve ever recorded.
You’ve already said everything I could want to say about the Airbag album. They continue to impress me with their social commentary, and their instrumental chops are outstanding. Their previous album, A Day At the Beach, is still my favorite, but The Century of Self is really, really satisfying.
The Bardic Depths’ new one is also a great album. Listening to it is like having a beer with C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and the other Inklings. To my ears, it’s the most musically ambitious set of songs from TBD, and I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to it throughout 2024.
The Cure’s album came out of nowhere as far as I was concerned, and I approached it with some trepidation – there’s nothing worse than an old favorite trying to recapture the spark and failing miserably. Robert Smith et al. came up with a fantastic album that easily holds its own with their previous best. Amazing!
Frost*’s Life In the Wires is far and away the most-played album of 2024 for me. I have yet to tire of it, and every time I listen to it I find some new and delightful detail. Jem Godfrey sings all of the vocals on this one, and he is terrific. The beautiful melodies pouring out of my speakers are such a bountiful feast for my ears. The story is fascinating as well – a young man rebels against a world run by AI when he hears a pirate radio broadcast. After tracking it down to its source, it turns out to be an automated program. But then things get weird – he seems to sacrifice himself to become the new source of the radio broadcasts and spark an awakening of humanity. At least that’s how I read it.
So that’s what I spent my time listening to this past year. I also loved the Ultravox Lament box set and the Talk box set by Yes. It’s nice to have this often overlooked album get the treatment it deserves.
Brad: Yes, Tad, thanks for the reminder about Yes’s 30th anniversary edition of Talk. The last of the Trevor Rabin-Yes era albums, it’s simply beautiful. Clearly, the band was going for a progressive AOR sound at the time, but the production is so very clean. I love the packaging as well for it. Not overblown, but a solid release in terms of presentation. Don’t get me wrong, I love big box sets like Lament by Ultravox, but sometimes the smaller packaging works just as well. For me, Marillion’s and Jethro Tull’s releases–in terms of packaging–hit the sweet spot. Basically small books that fit perfectly on a book shelf.
Thanks, too, for the story about the new Frost*. I’ve listened to it numerous times, but I’d not figured out the lyrics. What a great story! Now, I’ll listen to it with different ears.
I’m so glad we agree on The Cure, on Airbag, and on Frost*. Three essentials of the year.
As it turns out, The Cure also released their brand new album as a live release–Songs from a Live World–as well. Gorgeous. Seriously, what else can Robert Smith do? He simply captures the mood of every era in which he finds himself. And, I, for one, am so fortunate to be alive when Robert Smith is alive.
I would also note that 2024 is an important anniversary date. Kevin McCormick’s gorgeous Squall came out in 1999, a mere 25 years ago! Even the rather snobbish All-Music recognized the brilliance of Squall. As far as I understand it, McCormick is working on a follow-up CD.
It’s also the ten-year anniversary of the genius Scorch by the Tin Spirits. A favorite album. Also, ten years ago, appeared the brilliant Demon by Gazpacho and Anathema’s mediocre to good Distant Satellites.
But, Holy Moses, it’s not just about Tin Spirits. If we go back to the twentieth anniversary of releases, 2004, we get to The Pineapple Thief, Variations on a Dream; Glass Hammer’s Shadowlands; Proto-Kaw, Before Came After; The Tangent, The World We Drive Through; Ayreon, The Human Equation; and Marillion, Marbles. Sheesh, what else do you want?
Carl: Full and necessary confession: 2024 turned out to be year in which I listened to little new prog rock, or rock of any kind. Not for any lack of new and worthy rock music, but 2024 also turned out to be the year in which I fell quite a ways down The Vinyl Rabbit Hole. I’ll likely say more about that in a separate post on my favorite jazz of 2024, but suffice to say that I’ve been haunting various thrift and record stores.
My most listened album of the year was released 30 years ago: Seal’s second album (1994), titled, inconveniently enough, Seal—just like his 1991 debut. A deluxe edition was released, with a remastered version of the album (fantastic), as well as alternative versions of the songs (also wonderful). I listened to this album countless times when it first came out, and I have never tired of it (or of his first or third, titled Human Being). Why has it resonated so strongly with me? I’m not entirely sure, but for me it is a perfect pop/rock album, and it sits squarely in the middle of a trio of albums that I continue to think is one of the finest three-in-a-row rock/pop album families you’ll ever hear.
I enjoyed the new albums by Frost* and Pineapple Thief and if I listened more closely, I’m confident that I would really like them. Both bands have consistently produced accessible, intelligent prog rock of the highest order, so I plan to revisit them in the weeks to come.
Caligula’s Horse’s Charcoal Grace is mysteriously but aptly titled, as the music has a dusky, burnt quality that also shines with many moments of delicate beauty. This Aussie band has been a longtime favorite, and this album adds to a discography rich with ridiculous chops and vocals at the service of exquisitely crafted songs. A keeper.
Keep Me Fed by The Warning, the talented sister trio out of Mexico, is (as they say) a banger. Or a series of bangers, the sort of swaggering, catchy hard rock—with sublime harmonies—that has been sorely missed in recent years. For my money, I prefer their live versions a bit more; they are dynamic performers whose young ages (20 to 25) defy (even bely) the band’s evident maturity and exuberant zest.
Speaking of all female bands, a somewhat guilty pleasure this year has been watching videos of the mind-melting Japanese metal band Lovebites. They have been compared to Iron Maiden and similar metal bands, which makes it all the more strange as I have never cared that particular genre. All five of these ladies are virtuosos, and Miyako Watanabe, one of the two guitarists, was a classical pianist until her late teens, when she picked up electric guitar for the first time. The live album Memorial For The Warrior Souls (2024) and the studio album Judgment Day (2023) are unrelentingly fast, in-your-face, melodic, and—yes—tremendous fun. Check them out live on YouTube and prepare to be amazed.
Myles Kennedy might just be the hardest working and (by all accounts) nicest rocker out there today, and his third solo album The Art of Letting Go is classic Kennedy—powerful, assured, dynamic, moving—with some nice little twists. His is one of the finest rock voices of the past couple of decades, but his guitar playing and song writing are just as polished, varied, and inviting.
The Smile is like Radiohead if it didn’t have all of its members–and if it released albums more quickly. Which is what it is, with Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, bass, keys) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar, bass, keys) joined by Tom Skinner (drums). Wall of Eyes (released in January) and Cutouts (same session, released in October) are quirky, dark, strangely fun, often weird, always melodic, and never, ever boring. Yorke’s voice is timeless and Greenwood’s playing, which is always so distinctive, is a revelation. And this album comes across to me as even more jazz influenced than their debut—but never in a direct, obvious way. Great stuff!
One of my favorite country artists, Dwight Yoakam, is back with his first new album in almost a decade. Brighter Days finds the Bakersfield legend firing on all cylinders, apparently reenergized by marriage and a young son. Dwight sounds half his age (68) and his band, no surprise, is tight and razor sharp. Every cut is worth the price, with the deceptively simple “I Spell Love” getting a nod from this fan.
Speaking of artists aging well, Van Morrison continues his remarkable output, with three albums: Beyond Words, New Arrangements and Duets, and Live at Orangefield. The first is all instrumental and is enjoyable, with some unexpected quirks. The second is a solid collection, featuring collaborations with Kurk Elling, Joss Stone, and Willie Nelson, all to good effect. But the live album, recorded a few years ago, is a revelation, captures a mid-70s Morrison at the top of his powers, featuring (as usual) a crack band and some other-worldly backing vocals. It rewards repeated listens and is a notable testament to Morrison’s brilliance as both a singer and songwriter.
Brad: Carl, excellent choices. I, too, like The Smile, and I, too, (thanks to you) listened to a lot of Seal II as well! I also bought Trevor Horn’s memoir, but I have yet to read it.
Well, folks, this pretty much wraps up 2024 for us. We have a lot to look forward to in 2025. It looks like The Cure will be releasing more music, there’s a new and final season of Stranger Things, and we’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis. Not only is there a 50th anniversary edition of The Lamb coming out, but the brilliant Dave Kerzner has re-recorded the entire album and is offering it as a 3-cd set plus hi-res download for only $49.99, plus shipping.
Big Big Train will be touring the U.S, and IZZ will be performing some stripped down shows–maybe even in Hillsdale!
I’m sure we’ll continue to give our hard-earned money to The Burning Shed and Rita Kay Drew’s The Band Wagon USA. I highly recommend supporting both of these truly excellent business enterprises. Amazingly enough, each is competitive with Amazon, even with overseas shipping costs.
Tad, Carl, Kevin, Erik, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas (remember, we’re only on day three of twelve), a Happy Hanukkah (remember, we’re also only on day three!), and Happy New Year, everyone!
To live between a rock and a hard place In between time Cruising in primetime Soaking up the cathode rays To live between the wars in our time Living in real time Holding the good time Holding on to yesterdays
You know how that rabbit feels Going under your speeding wheels Bright images flashing by Like windshields towards a fly Frozen in the fatal climb But the wheels of time Just pass you by
Wheels can take you around Wheels can cut you down We can go from boom to bust From dreams to a bowl of dust We can fall from rockets’ red glare Down to “Brother, can you spare…” Another war, another wasteland And another lost generation
It slips between your hands like water This living in real time A dizzying lifetime Reeling by on celluloid Struck between the eyes by the big-time world Walking uneasy street Hiding beneath the sheets, got to try and fill the void
You know how that rabbit feels Going under your speeding wheels Bright images flashing by Like windshields towards a fly Frozen in that fatal climb But the wheels of time Just pass you by
We can go from boom to bust From dreams to a bowl of dust We can fall from rockets’ red glare Down to “Brother, can you spare…” Another war, another wasteland And another lost generation
Wheels can take you around Wheels can cut you down Fall from rockets’ red glare Down to “Brother, can you spare…” Another war, another wasteland Another lost generation
Walking across the sitting-room, I turn the television off Sitting beside you, I look into your eyes As the sound of motorcars fades in the night time I swear I saw your face change, it didn’t seem quite right And it’s hello babe, with your guardian eyes so blue Hey my baby, don’t you know our love is true
Coming closer with our eyes, a distance falls around our bodies Out in the garden, the moon seems very bright Six saintly shrouded men move across the lawn slowly The seventh walks in front with a cross held high in hand And it’s hey babe your supper’s waiting for you Hey my baby, don’t you know our love is true?
I’ve been so far from here Far from your warm arms It’s good to feel you again It’s been a long long time Hasn’t it?
I know a farmer who looks after the farm With water clear, he cares for all his harvest I know a fireman who looks after the fire
You, can’t you see he’s fooled you all Yes, he’s here again Can’t you see he’s fooled you all? Share his peace, sign the lease He’s a supersonic scientist He’s the guaranteed eternal sanctuary man Look, look into my mouth he cries And all the children lost down many paths I bet my life you’ll walk inside Hand in hand Gland in gland With a spoonful of miracle He’s the guaranteed eternal sanctuary We will rock you, rock you little snake We will keep you snug and warm
Wearing feelings on our faces while our faces took a rest We walked across the fields to see the children of the West But we saw a host of dark skinned warriors standing still below the ground
Waiting for battle
The fight’s begun, they’ve been released Killing foe for peace, bang, bang, bang Bang, bang, bang And they’ve given me a wonderful potion ‘Cause I cannot contain my emotion And even though I’m feeling good Something tells me I’d better activate my prayer capsule
Today’s a day to celebrate, the foe have met their fate The order for rejoicing and dancing has come from our warlord
Wandering in the chaos the battle has left We climb up the mountain of human flesh To a plateau of green grass, and green trees full of life A young figure sits still by a pool He’s been stamped “Human Bacon” by some butchery tool He is you
Social Security took care of this lad We watch in reverence, as Narcissus is turned to a flower A flower?
If you go down to Willow Farm To look for butterflies, flutterbyes, gutterflies Open your eyes, it’s full of surprise Everyone lies like the fox on the rocks And the musical box Oh, there’s Mum and Dad, and good and bad And everyone’s happy to be here
There’s Winston Churchill dressed in drag He used to be a British flag, plastic bag, what a drag The frog was a prince The prince was a brick, the brick was an egg, the egg was a bird (Fly away you sweet little thing, they’re hard on your tail) Hadn’t you heard? (they’re going to change you into a human being!) Yes, we’re happy as fish and gorgeous as geese And wonderfully clean in the morning
We’ve got everything, we’re growing everything We’ve got some in, we’ve got some out We’ve got some wild things floating about Everyone, we’re changing everyone You name them all, we’ve had them here And the real stars are still to appear (All change!)
Feel your body melt Mum to mud to mad to dad Dad diddley office, Dad diddley office You’re all full of ball Dad to dam to dumb to mum Mum diddley washing, Mum diddley washing You’re all full of ball
Let me hear your lies, we’re living this up to the eyes Ooh, aah, na-na-na Momma I want you now
And as you listen to my voice To look for hidden doors, tidy floors, more applause You’ve been here all the time Like it or not, like what you got You’re under the soil (the soil, the soil) Yes, deep in the soil (the soil, the soil, the soil!) So we’ll end with a whistle and end with a bang And all of us fit in our places
With the guards of Magog, swarming around The Pied Piper takes his children underground Dragons coming out of the sea Shimmering silver head of wisdom looking at me He brings down the fire from the skies You can tell he’s doing well by the look in human eyes Better not compromise, it won’t be easy
666 is no longer alone He’s getting out the marrow in your backbone And the seven trumpets blowing sweet rock and roll Gonna blow right down inside your soul Pythagoras with the looking glass reflects the full moon In blood, he’s writing the lyrics of a brand-new tune
And it’s hey babe, with your guardian eyes so blue Hey my baby, don’t you know our love is true? I’ve been so far from here, far from your loving arms Now I’m back again And babe, it’s gonna work out fine
Can’t you feel our souls ignite? Shedding ever-changing colours In the darkness of the fading night Like the river joins the ocean As the germ in a seed grows We have finally been freed to get back home
There’s an angel standing in the sun And he’s crying with a loud voice “This is the supper of the mighty one” Lord of Lords, King of Kings Has returned to lead his children home To take them to the new Jerusalem
Frost* is set to release their fifth studio album on October 18, Life In The Wires, which follows the excellent Day and Age of 2021. Once again, Jem Godfrey is the prime mover, this time handling all of the lead vocals in addition to keyboards and songwriting. John Mitchell returns on guitars, with Nathan King on bass and Craig Blundell on drums. There are nearly ninety(!) minutes of music here, and it is all terrific. Not a single moment is filler.
As Godfrey explains,
“It’s actually a sort of continuation from Day and Age. The first track on the new album starts with the end of the last track from that album “Repeat to Fade,” where the static comes up and a voice says “Can you hear me?” I remember putting that in when we did Day and Age as a possible little hook for the future; a character somewhere out there in Day and Age land trying to be heard. What does he want to say? Can anybody hear him? Day and Age kind of sets up the world that this character lives in and Life in the Wires tells his story”.
The album chronicles the adventures of a young man, Naio, who lives in the near future, in a world dominated by AI. One night, he hears a voice coming out of the static on an old AM radio asking, “Can you hear me?” From that initial contact, Naio goes on a quest to find out who is the person behind the Livewire radio broadcasts. Meanwhile, the AI that runs the world, “The All-Seeing Eye”, is on Naio’s trail, trying to prevent him from connecting with the mysterious man on the radio:
You wanna take me down for hearing voices on my radio
But I have seen your way of life and, thank you, I don’t want to know
You feed the people food and fear to keep them all compliant
But I won’t play your game so now you’ll fight to keep me silent
Interspersed between tracks are nuggets of speech from Livewire Radio broadcaster: “Hey, this is Livewire, voice of the free. And tonight we’re taking calls. Heh! I’m just kidding… Hahahaha!”
That’s the storyline, so what about the music? I have to say, I haven’t been this blown away by an album in years. Day and Age was my favorite album of 2021, and Life In The Wires is even better. Jem Godfrey is the master of crafting attractive and heartfelt songs, and every song on Life In The Wires delivers. Every style is visited here: ballads, straightforward rock, very heavy rock, and, of course, prog. I have listened to the entire album at least two dozen times, and I keep finding new things to delight in.
The boys of Frost* are a mean biker gang in their off-hours. Frost Band photo by Will Ireland
“Evaporator” is an extended, upbeat, almost funky tune with a nice 80s vibe. “Absent Friends” is a gorgeous and delicate piano-based ballad that reminds me of classic Aqualung (the group, not the Tull album). “School (Introducing the All Seeing Eye)” is a blistering instrumental where Mitchell shows off his chops.
Everything reaches a climax with the final three tracks, “Moral and Consequence”, “Life In The Wires (Part 2)”, and “Starting Fires”. “Moral and Consequence” has one of the most irresistible hooks I’ve ever heard. At the end of its more than 8 minutes, I was still begging for more, until the opening chords of “Life In The Wires (Part 2)”. This track is almost 16 minutes of near-perfect prog perfection. It calls to mind the best of Abacab – era Genesis, but, to my ears, it is better produced than that classic album. The closer, “Starting Fires” is simply beautiful – a somber and sweet melody sung to some spare musical backing. It seems as if Naio has connected with Livewire, and they are going to start a resistance to the Eye:
We’re making waves
We’re starting fires
We can’t go back
to Paradise
2024 is coming to close, and so far, Life In The Wires is the Album of the Year for me. We’ve been blessed with some great music this year, in particular The Bardic Depths album, What We Really Like In Stories, but my gosh, Frost* has put together an album for the ages.
Here is the official video for “Moral and Consequence”:
Spirit of Cecilia 
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