THE LIKES OF US

Big Big Train, one of the premier prog bands of the 2000s, has been through a lot over the past few years. In 2019, half the band (including guitarist Dave Gregory, Andy Poole, Danny Manners, and string player Rachel Hall) quit, leaving the remaining core members (David Longdon, Greg Spawton, Rikard Sjoblom, and Nick D'Virgilio) to regroup and refocus. They did so brilliantly, coming back with the great album Common Ground in 2021, and showing some new directions. However, in late 2021, the band was devastated by the tragic accidental death of lead vocalist-multi-instrumentalis-composer David Longdon, and put the future of the band in doubt. But they have regrouped once again, adding vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Alberto Bravin, as well as Dave Foster on guitar, Oskar Holdorff on keyboards, and Claire Lindley on violin, and released this latest album, and it is another triumphant return for the band. Alerto Bravin brings a different presence to the band, as he doesn't try to sound like Longdon, but has his own style and commanding voice that is all his own. He also has added substantially in the songwriting, playing, and arrangements of many of the songs on the album. Although forging on in some new directions, the album maintains the the essence of what makes Big Big Train great, with beautiful melodies, soaring instrumental passages, evocative narratives, and sweeping majestic themes, maintaining effective use of strings and horns, as well occasional bursts of heavier prog instrumental sections. From the shorter more rock-oriented Oblivion, to the beautiful ballads like Love is the Light, to the pastoral splendor and symphonic grandness of Light Left in the Day, to the magnificent epic Beneath the Masts, which has everything one could want in an epic-length BBT song (and will take its place among their greats), the album delivers another astounding chapter in the musical adventures of BBT, and continues their reign, at least for me, at the top of modern progressive rock. Best Tracks: Beneath the Masts, Miramare, Light Left in the Day, Oblivion, Last Eleven. Rating: 4.5 stars