ONES & ZEROS - VOLUME 0

I'm a bit late to the party here but finally got the other half of 3RDegree's Ones & Zeros 2 part conceptual work. Vol. 0 is different than Vol. 1 overall but you can probably jumble up the tunes in another way (like Big Big Train's Full Power) and be none the wiser. Just checked out my Vol. 1 review and I'd say all that I marveled over with that release holds true here and then some. Continued is the thing the band does that few other bands do where the DNA of the music is thoroughly 'prog' but the songcraft rules the day. The other thing is how economically sound the band is where this album almost reaches a full hour and you're not tired nor are you fed any filler. Even if you might not think one track is as great as another you notice it serves a purpose and makes the album better. Not sure if I attribute that to the array of writers or the different lyrical subjects presented. While the songs sort of dip into each other it's not full of the sound effects present on Vol. 1 so it might come off as a bit less 'thought out' but with the band themselves calling it a prequel it kind of lets them off the hook in a way. I wonder how they had this all worked out when they completed the last album. How did they make the songs on this new album to all predate those they finished first? No matter, but it seems a master stroke even if they lucked out! Sonically this album seems a bit retro primarily in its use of warm analog synths throughout. Beyond that it just feels like more good music about head scratching issues on the horizon. While this broad concept of futurism has been good for the band and has definitely got them good press, somehow I look forward even more to see where they go next and that's a good thing.