TONY PATTERSON & DOUG MELBOURNE

Ex-Regenesis duo find solace in the electronic.

Tony Patterson and Doug Melbourne’s stint in Regenesis helped them become one of the UK’s best Genesis tribute acts. Leaving in 2017, they’ve turned their gifts to work on a state-ofthe-nation address, by turns mesmerising and exquisite.

Anyone expecting Firth Of

Fifth chord progressions and theatrics is in for a shock, though. Here Patterson and Melbourne explore subtler textures. Think Ryuichi Sakamoto-meets-80s West Coast smooth rock and 70s Kraftwerk. Fake News deploys sequencers and laidback rhythms while Leave This Town echoes and shimmers. If its use of soft rock and jazz inflections suggests Toto,

Patterson’s voice retains enough Gabriel-esque oddness to avoid slickness. Despite dark subject matter – Trump looms large on Making It Great Again – there are transporting moments. Man On TV has a blissful piano riff which folds into a Kraftwerk groove, while More Beautiful is a minorkey marvel. Patterson and Melbourne save the best for last. One More Thing and Autumn’s Left Quieter are vast slabs of keyboard-led prog, the latter an instrumental suite that invites the listener to turn the lights down and bathe in aural beauty, a moment of hope in a grim world.