BREADCRUMBS

Wow, talk about a surprise comeback. After nearly a decade, the American prog masters of Discipline had sprouted once more. It's been a while for me too, ever since I reviewed Unfolded Like Staircase, and I have always kind of been meaning to review their other studio outputs, but never quite got the time or motivation to do so. But, I suppose this release was a calling to me, and since I finished reviewing their brother in the cold north of Sweden, I suppose it would be fitting to start this-hopefully-trend of reviews with their most recent effort.

Now, sad to say, I must admit something. The Discipline discography, for me at least, is rather mixed. While I think Unfolded Like Staircase is a classic that should be in the same ranks as other progressive rock scores, their other albums range from just good, to being kind of mediocre in comparison. Perhaps my opinions can change with time, but there hasn't been a standout Discipline record for me, other than the obvious. Especially Captives of the Wine Dark Sea. That one could've been so much more.

However, Breadcrumbs goes in the good category. Not excellent, but it does have that je nai se quoi that makes Discipline a band to keep an eye on.

Weirdly I find Breadcrumbs to be sort of a successor to Push & Profit, their debut. I suppose it has that going for it compared to Unfolded Like Staircase. It still has that Discipline edge that makes their music standout. The title epic especially has that quality that makes me swoon, alongside the more folksy When the Night Calls. However, the tracks are considerably more mellower, and form a sort of neo-progesque energy that was missing greatly from their recent releases, barring the archival Chaos Out of Order. It's a good sound, and while it may not be the direction I hoped the band would go in, it still isn't bad.

The social commentary especially here is good. Push & Profit was certainly a more politically charged record compared to the fantastical workouts they would follow off from that, but here they hone in that sort of style back in. Mostly because of...ahem, you know who, running the offices in the great big USA. The song is enriched in lyrics that describe how bad it is that radicals can run a country into the ground, whilst also being opposed to becoming so radical yourself. Admittedly I do sometimes fall into more radical ways of thinking, especially lately. It's easy to get into that headspace because the bigots running America right now?as well as bigots running other countries (looking at you England)-are very radical in of themselves.

It's an easy feedback loop, not helped by the fact the internet has since thrived on misery due to the weirdo fests of 2016, and the depressing Covid arcs of 2020. Which is why I like how Discipline takes a stab at this sort of culture directly to the heart. They aren't going to a conservative route of going "go woke, go broke" (which would be funny if they did, like you're a prog band you barely get money lol), nor a liberal route of saying we need a revolution. Hell, they aren't even being centrist, by saying both sides are stupid. They're simply saying that going full throttle in any kind of thinking will not lead to the best results, and that one should do their own research without the need of a bunch of internet nobodies filter feeding them through an influx of hate and deceit. It's a message that feels very disciplined, even if it's not about Greek tragedies.

Though, I do think it does get kind of lackluster with the final two tracks of Aloft and Aria. They're just kind of forgettable, and being forgettable in a Discipline album is a near death sentence for me.

Furthermore, I sort of wish the production was a bit better. It's not egregious, in fact the mixing is pretty good, but it sounds very clean for what it's worth. Way too clean honestly, and while usually clean production should be a good thing, I think in the case of Discipline, they benefit more on harsher, more grimy production values, rather than something you could get out of the average Steven Wilson record. I don't wanna just hear the keyboard, I wanna FEEL them, and honestly, I cannot feel them at all here.

But, that is how the bread crumbles. It certainly gets me hoping for more music from them in the future. Though, usually it takes them a while for them to make one album to the next, discounting all the brief hiatuses. But, who knows, they may turn into the gothic prog King Gizz and release something crazy next year. Either way, Discipline has made a pretty great comeback, one that is slowly becoming a favorite of mine with each listen. Give this one a shot, it's pretty worthwhile.

Best tracks: Breadcrumbs, When the Night Calls

Worst tracks: Aloft, Aria

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