AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Brummie folk proggers Quill first fledged in the early 70s, and over the years their line-up has included Diamond Head guitarist Brian Tatler and ELO/The Move’s Bev Bevan. Bevan’s back as their percussionist now, IQ/Frost’s Andy Edwards is on drums, and the band have taken flight again of late, recently playing Cropredy. Current EP Grey Goose Call (www.quilluk.com) sees them in moody, dark and sensual form, with Joy Strachan-Brain’s seasoned vocals on Little Affection and Skin On Skin nestled in a sweet spot between Sonja Kristina and Alison Goldfrapp.
The Dame are a band from The Hague setting themselves the unenviable task of making prog ‘sexy’. As you can see from the leggy lovely adorning their debut LP Losing Sight Of What You Want (www.thedameband.com), their aesthetic is 1920s chic, but their music is unreconstructed, live-sounding neo. Marian van Charante’s voice is distinctive and she really commits to tunes like
Faking It In Monaco, and if the 19-minute Conveniently Distant doesn’t totally hang together as a piece, at least it proves they’re serious about establishing their prog credentials.
Star Period Star formed in Chicago and now play out of Savannah, Georgia, and numerous styles collide on their fourth album, Daylight Spending (Jet Propulsion). There’s a little Rush on the title track, Dust Storm has a strong desert rock riff at its core, and the mini-triumph Bully Pulpit nods towards Canterbury way. Dan Sweigert’s vocals may be technically lacking, but his alt-rock attitude might just win you over, and avant-garde gems like The Pragmatist make the album well worth bearing with.
Far more radio-friendly is Tales Of Torment (Filthy Princess), by LA prog metal quintet The Longing. Now out in a deluxe version, it’s packed with songs so catchy, anthemic and symphonic that you hardly notice the fiddly, widdly instrumental parts and dark subject matter sneaking past. Singer/songwriter Laura Bradley is charismatic and seems to be in complete control, and if their metal mauling of To Make You Feel My Love is sure to appal Bob Dylan fans, this is otherwise shrewd stuff, a guided missile of a record.
The rapid advance of technology is a rich seam for proggers of all stripes. Last month we had Mile Marker Zero’s The Fifth Row and now we have New Jersey’s 3RDegree with their concept album Ones & Zeros: vol. 0 (10T Records). Here the subject is given the neo treatment, and it makes for detailed, textured music with some gorgeous harmonies and a real sense of purpose. Singer George Dobbs channels Peter Gabriel and Andy Partridge in parts, but he’s compelling on his own terms, and the human thought and warmth of the record serves to enhance its cautionary theme.
Meanwhile on the lighter, brighter indie side of the prog planet, there’s the debut album from Liverpool space cadets The Vryll Society. Trippy beats, Kraut, psych and hooky pop all orbit Course Of The Satellite (Deltasonic), a set of beautifully produced, woozy tunes topped by Mike Ellis’s blissful tones. The product of listening to a lot of the right records, it’s lovely stuff.
GRANT MOON has a rummage down the back of the Prog sofa for the ones that nearly got away…