DOMINION

I am a big fan of Dave Stewart's dirty organ. Not like that, Beavis. Clearly I am not alone, as Ryan Stevenson (Zopp being the name of his solo project) seems to have made a study of Stewart as part of his life's work. One of my favorite prog albums of all time, Khan's Space Shanty, is a Stewart showcase. As a result, from the opening minutes of Zopp's Dominion, my ears perked up quickly. To my delight, the entire album has Stewart's signature all over it, and not just the distorted keys. There are compositional choices, instrumentation, and overall tone that evoke not only Khan but Stewart's other projects such as Egg and National Health.

I am not a fan of all Canterbury. I like the jazzier, complex compositions and less the whimsy and completely avant garde attempts within the genre. (I don't like Caravan and Soft Machine as well as the aforementioned bands). Zopp / Stevenson hits the sweet spot for me in that regard. All the songs are very intentionally composed, have a lot going on at once, and utilize a broad palette of textures. Male and female vocals, horn sounds, guitars, and a wide variety of key sounds - all the ingredients are here. Most importantly, Z/S is a very good instrumental songwriter. I think the compositions develop well, move me through a range of emotional headspaces, and that the record is well mixed and performed.

Some reviewers have complained that this is derivative and it is. They state the originators including Stewart were boldly going where no one had gone before and that Stevenson is treading no new territory - and they are right. However, the same can be said of a vast number of bands, many of whom are all aping the same narrow set of musical acts. There aren't that many retro-Canterbury acts, especially this particular lane in the Canterbury style. As I've said in other reviews, you don't always have to re-invent the wheel. And there is only so many times I can re-listen to Space Shanty. Having new material in this wheelhouse is a great joy.

Finally, the fact that this music has some modern polish and is not swinging for seats and sometimes missing means that it could be a good entry point for fans of other segments of prog to try out Canterbury.

I don't think this is a masterpiece and doubt this will be my personal album of the year, but it's a great piece of work that I've listened to as many times as any other album in 2023 so far. Cheers to the artist.

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