A TRACE OF MEMORY

My first listen of this release was underwhelming. What did I miss, was I not focusing? It was good, solid but mellow, sounding familiar. "The Yellow Ship", the available song before the album came out, was awesome. So fast forward to several listens later and I can say, I was so wrong with my initial thoughts on "A Trace of Memory". This is a brilliant release that could now be my favorite Hum. Dark, brooding, heavy, and more Canterbury sounding than their usual output. Superb arrangements and changing moods through each song with plenty of instrumental breaks to showcase the bands fiery passion. Half the album is instrumental, and songs with vocals have space for jamming. Joff is throwing down some awesome guitar riffs. He is a severely underrated guitarist and the rest of the band mates aren't too shabby. I don't understand why they aren't more popular with the prog folks. Easily in my top five albums of 2020. This band deserves more exposure and this release should be required listening for all music lovers. 4.5 stars rounded down, but it may go up with repeated listens.