ENDURANCE OF THE OBSOLETE

German project APOGEE have been releasing material at a steady pace for the past 25 years or so, a venture that started out and still is the creative vehicle of composer and musician Arne Schäfer, but now with drummer Eberhard Graef appearing to be a permanent member as well. "Endurance of the Obsolete" is the tenth album to be issued under the Apogee moniker, and was released by German label Progressive Promotion Records in the summer of 2020.

Apogee as of 2020 strikes me as a band that should have a fairly good appeal among progressive rock fans. "Endurance of the Obsolete" is an album in need of fans that enjoy epic length compositions with enough twists and turns to merit the description challenging, as well as those who do not see the need for such creations to be within or in touch with the symphonic landscapes of the progressive rock universe at all times. In my view this is probably the most accomplished creation form this venture I have come across so far, and a strong album overall.

I must say that this album gave me a nice surprise, since one can find here a lot of tasteful and intricate vocal conterpoint in the loving style of Gentle Giant, but without incurring in a plain copy or pastiche. There's also, along with the recognizable pattern of voices and acoustic guitars, some original flavor in melodies and arrangements, as well as clever and skilful song writing, and that makes this new listen worth. I can point out a resemblance to dutch prog rockers Focus too, for example in the keyboards fanfare and vocal chorus of the opening track ("Interpretations"). But that one, and the other influences, are organically integrated in the music that runs fluid following its own path, and conforming an original and solid idea

So. Another one-man band. Well, I must say that I usually have issues toward one-man bands. Generally speaking, the singing is is OK (sometimes bad), the guitar is OK, the bass is OK, the keys are OK and the drum is OK. No virtuosity expected. The new Apogee album, Endurance of the Obsolete, checks in all categories. But, as a whole, does it make Endurance of the Obsolete an "OK" album ? A little more than that I must say, much to my surprise. Arne Schäfer, the man behind Apogee (and behind Versus X) manages to give us very nice melodies. The 6 songs of the album (3 of them are more than 12 minutes long, which I like) are anything but complex nevertheless structurally well balanced and pleasant to the ear. The opening song song, "Interpretations", is particularly interesting with its three-parts canon (à la Haken's Cockroach King) and its fine cello, harpsichord and vibraphone harmonies. Overruled, a 16-minute epic, is a good example of a perfectly well written and composed composed piece of progressive music. This is Apogee's tenth album and it was about time for me to discover Schäfer's work. Endurance of the Obsolete is, despite its minor flaws, a very interesting album that will surely force me to make up for lost time and listen to Apogee's old stuff. Well deserved 4 out of 5 stars here (could have been 4,5 with a guest singer !).

Multi-instrumentalist Arne Schäfer is back with his tenth album under the Apogee name and has been joined again by drummer Eberhard Graef. It is safe to say that I have not been the greatest fan of his releases to date, which go back some 25 years, but did think his previous album, 2018's 'Conspiracy of Fools" was his best to date, and here I find myself saying exactly the same thing again. Historically I have not been the biggest fan of his vocals, but now we have much improved singing with the music arranged in such a way as to play to his strengths and minimise the weaknesses. It is the arrangements that really make the album stand out, with strong use of acoustic guitar, some nice, dated keyboards, and electric guitar leads which are quite reminiscent of Jadis and Pendragon.

Apogee are generally classified as crossover prog, but this album sees them also move firmly strongly into neo prog. Given my previous concerns over his vocals I am surprised to hear a layered a capella section in opener "Interpretations", and the use of xylophone during that number also gives it a much stronger feel. The digipak contains all the lyrics in a booklet, and although I must confess, I was not really looking forward to playing this album, I was really surprised at just how good it is. I may not have have recommended Apogee in the past, but this album sees a step change in the music, which means that now really is the right time to investigate the band who are mixing together some commercial and interesting progressive styles to produce an album which is immediately enjoyable.