OF BRINE AND ANGELS BEAKS

AZURE is one of the many new prog bands that has sprung forth in the second decade of the 21st century with ties to the prog of yore but adding new twists and turns that place it firmly in the category of modern prog. Having formed in Brighton, England in 2015, AZURE has released two albums thus far starting with 2017's "Wish For Spring" and now in 2021 its sophomore release OF BRINE AND ANGEL'S BEAKS. Also a couple EPs have seen the light of day as well. Despite its huge sound this band is only a quartet consisting of Chris Sampson (vocals, synthesizer, guitar, programming), Galen Stapley (guitar), Brandon Midlane (bass) and Sam Calder (drums).

This band has a rather strange sound. It's not that it has completely invented something completely new but rather in how it has taken ingredients from myriad influences and created an entirely new recipe of heavy guitar oriented prog. OF BRINE AND ANGEL'S BEAKS is an hour plus excursion into a heavy yet happy style of prog where "Red" era King Crimson angularities are met with 21st century progressive metal energetic deliveries. The music reminds me most of The Mars Volta's earliest offerings although i can't say that AZURE has mastered the compositional fortitude for it to be in the same league.

With twelve tracks, OF BRINE AND ANGEL'S BEAKS sparkles with a blue-ribbon production job where the instrumentation sparkles with rich tones, timbres and sound textures that firmly place it in the modern world. Compositionally speaking the tracks are rife with major chords delivering a heavy prog version of Sweden's Moon Safari in that everything comes off as so cheerful. The hardest pill to swallow for me is the overwrought vocal style of Chris Sampson. Sounding somewhat like a mix of Mars Volta's Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Haken's Ross Jennings, his style can also come off as a sort of power metal vocalist only under the influence of happy pills.

This is a very synth-rich album and although heavy guitar outbursts add a welcome contrast to the overall style, the album is more akin to those prog metal bands that love to add syrupy ballad styles to their composiitons and AZURE takes it to oft saccharine levels. In some ways, Dream Theater comparisons could be made especially in the slower earnest passages where the vocals sort of sing off tune from the musical backing. The album has an air of indie rock and indie pop aspects to it as well as it is, well quirky for the lack of a better term. While the comps flow smoothly also do they sound like the proggy time signatures and such are forced which IMHO interferes with the melodic flow. It's almost as if the band wants to show their avant-prog heft only in the context of a melodic symphonic prog band resulting in a somewhat stilted effect.

While not considered neo-prog, this album does evoke many a neo-prog journey with extra sugary pop hooks and overwrought vocals tugging or attempting to evoke every emotive response however it does sound a bit forced much of the time and the band would have done better by making sure the compositional fortitude was the underpinning element with the other elements augmenting it rather than whizzing around in unpredictable manners. While i can't put my finger on it, there is a fine line between amazing avant-prog and more melodic brands of progressive rock but if they're not juggled carefully they seem to collapse in an unsatisfying heap of sound. When it comes down to it this probably just does't suit my sensibilities since many do like this strange mix of heavy prog bombast mixed with airy fairy whiny vocal led prog. Hardly a bad album but not one that floats my boat either. Musically this album has moments for sure.