John Bassett - Unearth

Some might say that there can be nothing more prog than a band by the name of King Bathmat, and if you're unfamiliar with their work I would recommend that you check them out, particularly their last two albums, 'Truth Button' and 'Overcoming the Monster'. The guiding light behind this project is a gentleman by the name of John Bassett, and he has just released his first solo album, 'Unearth'.

The first thing that grabbed me about this recording was the stunning image on the cover -  a truly brilliant piece of photography which, for me, invites you to want to see what the package contains. And once you start listening, you're treated to some inspired and inspiring song-writing, but in a very different vein from the King Bathmat material.

This is an album graced with haunting harmonies and tantalising counterpoint. The whole thing has, for the most part, a somewhat melancholic, thoughtful air to it. Having said that there are some more upbeat moments, for example in 'Nothing Sacred' and the instrumental 'Kylerhea', and 'Pantomime' has an almost playful edge to it in the swirling keyboards that hang in the background throughout. This is a collection full of surprises and suggestions: the blackbirds that begin and end 'Keep Dear' are endearing; I found hints of Nirvana's 'All Apologies' in 'TV is God', and there are echoes musically for me in the closing track 'Comedian' of the album opener 'Stay Away From The Dark', book-ending a complete package.

There is none of the bombast of the King Bathmat material here, but for those who appreciate good acoustic songs well-written and performed, this is an album that will not disappoint.

Matt Stevens - Lucid

Anyone who is used to the music of Matt Stevens, with his looping acoustic guitar and interesting time signatures may find his latest offering - Lucid - a bit of a shock to the system. The strange rhythms are still present, but this is, in places, a much bolder, louder, heavier collection of tunes than hitherto. In fact at times it put me more in mind of his work with The Fierce and the Dead than his previous solo work (not that that's a bad thing).

The album opener, 'Oxymoron', hits you straight between the eyes with its staccato beats and 15/8 time, and this continues with the 4.3.4.2 pattern of the 13/8 'Flow' - this is not music to dance to (easily) but music to tantalise and excite nonetheless. That feeling continues with 'Unsettled', which certainly can do that with its 22-beat structure. 'The Other Side' (track 4) is more like the early Stevens: a quieter and more relaxing acoustic tune, which has a joyous edge to it in places. 'The Ascent' reminded me of King Crimson's 80s material and has some stirring electric guitar runs within it. The next track 'Coulrophobia' is an ethereal, slightly eerie combination of guitars & vibes that gives the feel of some kind of dysfunctional musical box, which kind of makes sense when you discover (as I did) that the title refers to a fear of clowns. The title track 'Lucid' and its follower 'KEA' build layers of sound upon one another in typical Stevens manner, one with electric instruments, the other acoustically.

Thus far the tunes have all clocked in at 3:31 or under, but now we are treated to two fuller pieces. 'Street and Circus', at just under 5 minutes, has a warm 12-string ambiance to it that picks up in intensity towards the end as the drums kick in and makes use of the time it has to develop nicely. Then we have the epic - nearly 12 minutes of 'The Bridge', which was many people's introduction to the album as it was the first track released. This is a tune with a heavy, driving beat to begin with, which fades out to something almost industrial before a quiet acoustic interlude draws you in. The initial theme returns, leading into bass and drums keeping a rhythm going behind the whoosh of white noise before the final flourish of screaming electric guitars brings up to a conclusion. The final cut, 'A Boy', sort of waltzes through to the end of the album, and is almost a song without words in its lyricism.

This is another wonderful and varied selection from Matt, and I would urge you all, if you haven't done so, to give it a serious listening-to. You will not be disappointed.

The Death of the Left

This week in British politics has seen the death of two leading lights of the Left: Bob Crow, leader of the RMT Union, and Tony Benn.

What I have found particularly interesting has been the words that have been spoken about these men, not by their supporters and allies, but by those who are politically poles apart from them. To read of Boris Johnson eulogising Bob Crow, and even David Cameron finding kind words to say of Tony Benn, has been a little bemusing (even if Cameron's words were nothing more than praise of Benn's oratorical skills rather than his beliefs and policies).

All of it put me in mind of this classic Not the Nine o'Clock News sketch:

Verbal Delirium - From the Small Hours of Weakness

One of my best recent musical discoveries has to be an album by the Greek band Verbal Delirium - "From the Small Hours of Weakness". I believe I was recommended it through contacts on Facebook, and picked up a copy through Bandcamp for the princely sum of 'pay what you like'!

The album artwork gives the initial impression that this is going to be a dark, brooding collection of songs, but don't let the decay and desolation fool you. This is a wonderfully varied ensemble of pieces with light and shade in equal measure.

The album opens with '10,000 Roses', a lively start to the album, with drums and flute interplaying for the first 2:40 or so before the guitars kick in over the repeated 'I've got 10,000 roses in my head'. There is, for me, a distinct Porcupine Tree vibe about this song, which can't be a bad thing.

'Desire', the second track, starts quietly with piano and acoustic guitar, but builds around 3 minutes into something a little more 'orchestral', but with the piano still dominant. Then we have a couple of instrumental tracks: 'Erebus', a short (0:49) atonal saxophone piece by Nikos Nikolopoulos; and then 'Dance of the Dead', which draws on Saint-Saëns' 'Danse Macabre'. It starts with bass notes on the piano, before sax, keys and other instruments come in.

The stand-out track on the album for me is 'The Losing Game' - this track gives us the album's title in its lyrics ("from the small hours of weakness to the big hours of anger"). It opens with a gentle interplay between piano and guitar, leading into the verse with organ, sax & guitars supporting each other as the song builds, alongside some strong vocal harmonies. At about the mid-point of this near 9-minute piece the guitar solo kicks in: a lyrical melody which had for me echoes of Santana, without the melodrama of some of his work. The guitar is replaced by the sax, continuing over the recurring chord sequence, before the guitar returns to draw the song to a close. The interplay between Nikos Nikolopoulos (sax) and Nikitas Kissonas (guitar) here is quite breath-taking.


'Disintegration', the next track, is more of a rocker, beginning with bass and piano before the rest of the band join in. It has a steady, driving beat, which accelerates towards the end. This leads into a brief (0:37) reprise of 'Dance of the Dead'.

'Sudden Winter' evokes for me in its opening bars of higher register piano a picture of falling snow. It was a slight disappointment, therefore, when the lyrics started up, to only be told of "Drops of rain on the window..." - maybe there's not much snow in Greece. a good song, with trumpet working with the keyboards in the middle section.

The album closer is a two-part 'epic' - Aeons. Part 1 has a dreamy, ethereal feel with voices at times quite far back in the mix and becoming almost mantra-like. It builds to a driving beat, with guitars & keyboards fighting for dominance. Part 2, from around 4:00, is a much slower movement, with a melody played on the bass interplaying with piano and then drums, some 'spacey' guitars and 'airy' vocal that put me in mind of Saucerful of Secrets-era Pink Floyd. Essentially an instrumental piece, the vocals do return around 9:00, but are never dominant, and the track fades out to an almost ambient vibe.

This recording has grown on me with every listen, and I would recommend you check this band out. While you're at it, have a listen to Nikitas Kissonas' other project, Methexis: another extremely good album.

CRS Awards Night 2014

Last night I attended the Classic Rock Society's Awards night in Wath-upon-Dearne. I've just written about it for the Progarchy blog - you can read the post here.