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Strangefish - Fortune Telling CD (album) cover

FORTUNE TELLING

Strangefish

 

Neo-Prog

3.85 | 66 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Foxtrot
4 stars It is difficult to pigeonhole the relatively new band Strangefish. One can hear glimpses of Genesis, IQ, and Marillion here and there, but there are also hints of Spock's Beard, and perhaps even Kansas or Gentle Giant, among others. What this means is that Strangefish does not have a derivative sound, but is new and creative, and any reminiscences are mostly in their choice of instrument or in the ear of the listener. To me, Strangefish leans toward the symphonic mold, considering that their compositions are complex, the musicianship top-notch, and no particular instrument dominates or spends too much time in solo. Quite often, groups classified as neo progressive tend to have "too much icing on the cake" - this group appears to have avoided that tendency quite nicely. The production of the album is excellent as well.

Fortune Telling, their second outing, is a concept album which tells the story of a man who dreams of a better life - "if only.". His plan to achieve this better life takes place weekly at the local convenience store's lottery ticket counter. During one such visit, he is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is grazed by a bullet during an attempted robbery. While our hero is in a coma, he imagines that he has won the lottery, and he is now rich beyond his wildest dreams. In the dream, he comes to realize that his new found friends are really only friends with his wealth, and that his true happiness comes from his memories.

All of the tracks flow together nicely to tell the story, and at a casual listen one might not even notice when one song ends and another begins. The telling of the tale moves from slow harmonious sections, to rocking numbers with relative ease, and with good cohesion. The one song which is not part of the concept is the final track, The Lighthouse Jig, an instrumental which has been popular in their live gigs, and is an impressive display of musicianship, especially by Julian Gregory on violin. It starts out slow and somber, and develops into a rollicking Irish jig.

Overall, I am very impressed by this album, and encourage you to give it a listen.

Foxtrot | 4/5 |

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