STAY FOR THE ENDING

I've been a fan of District 97 for a long time, from about the time of 'The Trouble with Machines', through 'In Vaults', but I kind of lost sight of them after that. 'Screens' passed me by, but I've always been impressed by the complexity and power of their music, and especially with Leslie's powerful vocals - it's not easy to sing this music, with its complex structures and shifting time signatures. I imagine that Adrian Belew had this problem in his time with King Crimson.

Now they have released 'Stay for the Ending', I'm back onboard, big time! This is a great album that is likely to be overlooked and underrated. The song structures are as complex as ever, with powerhouse vocals from Leslie and Jim, and brilliant interplay between Jim's guitar riffs and solos, and Andrew's keyboards. It sounds a bit weird to say this, but they make prog rock accessible without any making compromise. It's always a temptation to edit out the angular riffs and unusual time signatures in a bid to become more popular, to expand your audience. This is, happily, not the case with District 97. I do really hope they reach a wider audience though, as their brilliance, accessibility, and abundant virtuosity deserves more attention. This is a thoroughly enjoyable album that has the best of both worlds - great vocals and powerful, moving music.

Good luck, guys!