DOWN AND OUT IN PARIS AND LONDON

Retro Progressive Rock is one of my favorite modern Prog staples. As someone who was born and lived in a modern age, I love my fair share of old music like Yes and Pink Floyd, but nothing hits me as well as that very same type of music revolutionized into a modern time period. It's still the same fun and whimsical sounding stuff you'd hear in the 70s, but definitely in a modern climate. It is apparent that there will be bands however that have a sort of a mixed discography, whether it be from newer or older fans of Progressive rock. One such band is The Tangent.

The Tangent is a fairly eclectic band that is very much inspired by some of the greats like Yes, Van Der Graaf Generator, and King Crimson, but they also have a pretty divisive album catalog. I have reviewed an album by them before, heck Songs From The Hard Shoulder was my very first album I heard from this band, so of course with an album I really liked I obviously had to check more of their stuff out. To me surprise their work is very interesting with some very technical and fun stuff mixed with some politics and worldviews that give me a sort of Pink Floyd like vibe to the songs with how their structured and how they are less about a rise and a climax and more about making longer songs to fully develop what they want their listeners to hear. So for no reason other than the fact I feel like it, I am reviewing another album by The Tangent, or EP as the band likes to call it even though it's 57 minutes so calling it an EP is kinda weird, but ok. Sure why not go ham.

The album begins with the 19 minute long track, Where Are They Now? This track definitely holds its own in terms of its stylization and progression. It has a layer of fun and free form jazz with a very good heaping of some expertly crafted technical skill. Things flow seamlessly from one point to the other so that everything feels smooth like butter. However with that being said, this is probably one of their weaker long songs since it never really screams out about anything of note, besides maybe gambling in the modern age, it comes off a little weak on the lyrics side of things, and the whole song never really made me want to hear it again, and again, and again like so many other epics have done for me. It is a perfectly fine song, but not one I'd go back on anytime soon.

Next up is Paroxetine 20mg, and this song takes a different approach into a more early Neo Prog-esque sound with a good deal of synths and a number of moments that make me feel as if I am going back in time to a period where the general senses thought Progressive Rock was dead. Added onto this change of sound is a good use of the band's signature sax playing skills, which was provided by Theo Travis of Soft Machine. This has such a joyful jazz fusion aspect to it that it makes for a unique and unparalleled sound. It also has some much better lyricism that is different from the last song since it doesn't feel like a totally nothing experience, but rather something a little more interesting about how much the modern day and age relies to heavily on traffic and how boring a traffic jam can be, showcasing a clear disdain for a more machinery driven world, which I find rather interesting. Overall a great song.

Next up is Perdu Dan Paris. If I had to give this song a descriptor, I'd probably say it is 'slow'. Now I am not saying it is slow in a bad sense, it is just that it takes its time before really revving its gears. It allows the song to really develop, to really showcase its softer, ballad-like approach rather than something like a fun jazz rock song like the previous tunes were. But while the instrumentation gets to develop, the lyricism feels a bit too'boomer like. The boomer mindset is sort of a problem in most music communities, and this goes for all ages. People sometimes really think that the old times were much better and that they wish to go back to the 'good old days' or that they are 'born in the wrong generation' and I think this song's lyrics represent that perfectly because it's basically saying that the old Paris was better than the one in the modern day, even though I bet you like 5 bucks that is not true. It's a little pretentious and a bit blinded by nostalgia. I am not saying you cannot look on the past fondly, but I rather look towards the future than be stuck in the past. Good song instrumentally, not so great lyrically.

That tangent (Heh) aside, we come into the next track on the album, The Company Car. This is like the last song where it starts off pretty slow but where it allows itself to really breathe and stretch, but to less of a ballad approach and more of a usual Prog rock song with some good old synths and keyboard playing. Like the last song though, it still has that same stuck in the past mentality, this time about phones instead of the past of a city. I already went off on how I dislike this. Again, a good song instrumentally, but not so good lyrically.

And lastly, The Canterbury Sequence Volume 2: Ethanol That Nail. As the name suggests, this is basically a tribute to Canterbury Scene bands. I hear a lot of Soft Machine and Caravan with that fusion-like playing mixed with some nicely done improvinization to really make this track shine a ton. It still retains the roots of The Tangent's sound, but does so in a way that it kinda crosses the feelings I have for the Canterbury Scene and The Tangent's music, which in this case is nothing but positivity, aside from a few hiccups. This is definitely a good closing for this album, even if it's a instrumental track, which I think from what I said about the lyrics to these songs, I'd definitely would probably prefer this over something with rather poor lyricism in my honest opinion.

This album is fairly good yet I do feel as though there is a huge unbalancing act with the song writing and the instrumentation that this album has. Only one song really interested me lyrically and the other I found no problems with was an instrumental track. This album has a lot of fun and interesting moments, but it is bogged down by half- assed and old man sounding lyricism. I recommend checking this out but check out other Tangent albums first so you can at least get a better grasp on what the album has going for it.