Well, I have to admit I'm having a pretty slow month. Hayfever hit pretty hard, and I'm realizing that I have a lot of gaps in my 1985 list, so I'm going to have plenty of retro review articles for this year as I figure out my Top 5 (which might be delayed as a consequence). I decided to start things off by getting into the neo-prog scene, so here are three reviews of albums that have some interesting takes on what 80s prog rock was doing.
I admit I gave this a shot purely on the notion check out a new band from the neo-prog era. I saw their name on a list, saw that their debut was in 1985, and gave it a listen to see if it had a chance at being in my Top 5 article. While they toured with Marillion quite a bit at this time, they definitely sound more like Asia or Drama-era Yes, with some 80s Rush-style AOR here and there.
The album starts with "Higher Circles," which honestly feels like a single, with it's typical structure and bouncy rhythms. It's not bad, but certainly not indicative of the rest of the album with it's more complex prog rock ideas. The next track in particular, "The Pleasure of Hope," is just under four minutes long but has some curious energy shifts. "Leviathan" is where I think the band finally stretches out and finds their strengths, and "Circus" really lets the synths build quite well. While he would only be on this album, keyboardist Rick Carter gives the band a good, atmospheric wall of sound, and trades solos quite well with Nick Barrett (the guitarist and singer). Speaking of which, I think Nick sounds a lot like Greg Lake, his unique English accent piercing through the songs. The album closes with its longest song "The Black Knight," at nearly ten minutes long. Here, the band leans into more somber, Pink Floyd style, and shows a lot of their unique dynamics and thoughtful melodies.
Going in rather blind, I was pleasantly surprised by what I heard. While they were (unsurprisingly) very 80s, they don't feel stuck in one style or another, and blend their influences and ideas together well. "Leviathan" and "Circus" were the two that stood out the most for me, largely because of Peter Gee's melodic bass work making me think of Chris Squire (which is always a good thing in my book). I'll need to listen to this a few more times to decide how I really feel about it to rank it, but upon first impressions, I found plenty to like!
While their first two albums were interesting works, if a bit messy at times, the band found their stride with this one, not only maturing as song-writers, stretching their ideas into concept albums and tracks that segue into long flowing pieces across the album. It also ends up being their breakout success, largely through "Kayleigh" becoming a hit single.
Inspired by Fish's life (and an acid trip), the album focuses on lost love and lost innocence, but also in finding it again and being revitalized. The band carries these ideas well, keeping to their blend of influences, though I do think their Pink Floyd side was much stronger this time around. While the big hit "Kayleigh" is a standout, the whole album is actually quite good, without really having any low points (and Fish seems to be less whiney this time around). The short tracks almost serve like intermissions or segues, and each side feels like a long, winding prog epic, with interesting twists and turns, again much like Pink Floyd.
It really feels that everyone in the band is more in sync with each other now, as the rhythms and melodies flow well between high and low dynamics, though for much of the album, the tone stays pretty somber. It's not until the end that the mood improves and Fish gets rather optimistic about things. I don't know if it's better than Clutching at Straws (I should relisten to that again), but Misplaced Childhood is a definite improvement for the band.
To round out this article of 80s neo-prog, I decided to listen to IQ's second album. I checked out their debut album last year and found it interesting, if a bit messy. However, even in just a year, the band starts to settle into their unique brand of dramatic melancholy.
Once again, the production is a bit dated. They're trying to get this wall-of-sound style to work, and it mostly does, but it sometimes gets muddy, and vocalist Peter Nicholls often gets buried in all the synths, but I was able to get used to it eventually. This album gets more atmospheric than the debut, which becomes a staple of the band's sound (at least, from what I've listened to). Things start pretty spacey with "Outer Limits," as it has a long intro and some interesting rhythmic changes. I liked "The Magic Roundabout" with it's Yes-like blend of jazz and classical (though I do wonder if that wasn't intentional, considering the title), and "Widow's Peak" goes through some interesting dynamics as well. The shorter songs were more poppy, but I liked the energy on "The Thousand Days." While it makes for some decent variety, the tracks all blend well with the style they're building for themselves.
Overall, this is definitely an improvement over Tales from the Lush Attic, mainly because this album feels more whole and consistent. There are some neat little melodies, and Martin Orford gets plenty of work layering all those synths and organs. While I can imagine this getting lost in the cracks while Marillion found success, but it very much marks when this band started to codify their iconic sound.
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