A PLACE IN THE QUEUE

The Tangent

Eclectic Prog

3.85 | 400 ratings

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aapatsos
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator

You've got more people here than Sweden, but it's the loneliest place in the world

...Lost in London is one of those tracks that might stick to your head forever: a heavy dose of irony surrounded by a jazz fusion/blues atmosphere and polished with a few heavy prog riffs.

A Place in the Queue is definitely an eclectic hearing. My first impressions of THE TANGENT were very positive a few years ago when I listened to some of this album's tracks on prog radio. While there are some quite ''mainstream'' prog tracks like GPS Culture, Follow your Leaders and The Sun in my Eyes (almost pop), the overall sound of the album is highly eclectic - to my ears this is the case here because of the jazz/avant-garde atmosphere, the highly ironic lyrics and singing approach and the weird arrangements that take place in various points in the record.

KING CRIMSON, YES and VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR are the obvious influences in the music of THE TANGENT. However, the mood is closer to that of YES and less to that of the ''dark'' representatives of the eclectic genre. The moments that the atmosphere gets a bit gloomy can be found in the short instrumental-based DIY Surgery and the two epics: In Earnest and the title track. The other thing that can be said with certainty is that the level of musicianship and virtuosity remains at high standards - surely prog fans of complex arrangements and bizarre melodies will enjoy the moments in this album.

One interesting thing that occurred to me is that this album sounds highly ''English'' to me... especially the lyrics and the vocals may appeal to friends of ''traditional'' eclectic prog.

Best moments: Lost in London, GPS Culture and A Place in the Queue. The latter is particularly recommended to prog fans.

I don't feel this is a masterpiece and the rating I assign applies only to the level of my personal enjoyment. I mainly felt that the queue could be much shorter... However, there are moments that are mind-blowing. For friends of eclectic prog, half or one extra star makes absolute sense.

aapatsos | 3/5 | 2009-6-29

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