NARROW-CASTER

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12 years of patience and maturity put to good use.

3RDegree is a fairly new find to most of us proggers who didn't live in the New Jersey area in the mid-90s, but they've already been once around the block before this release. This is actually the band's third official album, and a bigger number than that for the members who completed solo projects over the years. But it seems that taking a break from 1997 until now is just what the band needed to complete an excellent, thematic and very mature album that will no doubt appeal to proggers far and wide. While the band resides in song-based material that always stays modestly concise they're still impressive on a number of levels, from composition to melody and mood. They definitely have a sound that's hard to compare to other acts since they have a touch of influence from the early 90s grunge bands, the 80s new wave music and a healthy dose of classic prog, but it all purees together nicely to make for a great listen that demands spin after spin.

While the songs work together on the whole to create a running tone and theme, they certainly are impressive on their own, something many prog bands struggle to pull off. Take for example the calm and reflective It Works, a mid-paced song that develops through moods and speeds with some serene vocal parts from George Dobbs and some very pleasing piano melodies. Other songs that induce a kind of nirvana-head-rush include the somewhat ''non-prog'' (but who cares) title track, Narrow-Caster which includes some of the best lyrics to describe the current state of the world, (''this is indeed my world/and you're just living in it'') and some more incredibly airy yet demanding melodies that make you want the song to last longer than its 3-minute duration, but still make you not miss it too much when it's over. More on the 'proggy' side of things is the excellent Young Once which goes through a plethora of moods before ascending into keyboard heaven with a 2 and a half minute ambient section reminiscent of Jean-Michel Jarre. This helps things segue nicely into the next piece, which also happens to be the longest on the album. Scenery is an excellent track that encompasses everything the band has done well to this point and simply exaggerates it.

Of course while a big part of the album's wonder has foundation in the moody and serene aspects, it just wouldn't be the same without that grungy influence that makes some of the songs into excellent - and unique - powerhouses that will rock you to your core. The opening Apophenia is just like that, excellent vocal work once again is backed by a band obviously fired up to make a comeback. This one is defined by a hard guitar from Pat Kliesch which will show itself in much more than one place on the album, and rightly so. Free For All is another hard hitter which has apparently become a staple track for the boys, and it shows in the amount of energy put into it. The shortest song on the album is also the heaviest, The Proverbial Banana Peel is a great tongue-in-cheek track that includes some almost growling backing vocals layered overtop of all the other vocals which makes for a noticeable section. Live With This Forever maintains dark tones overtop of a subtle, yet mean bassline coming from Robert Pashman, the vocal harmonies on the chorus section are very pleasing to say the least. Cautionary Tale has the band about to sound like The Mars Volta before adding their trademark control into their songs. This one is another darker tune with subtle instrumentation this time dominated by the drumming styles of Rob Durham before coming into a once again harmonized chorus section. Another nice combination of dark and serene. The Last Gasp is another dark and somewhat chilling song before becoming once again very pleasing in sound with a memorable chorus that rings in your head long after the song is over.

Clocking at 46-minutes this album is also the ideal time. While previous albums showed the band trying to make the most out of cd-space, this one shows them trying to construct the best-of-the-best of their material into a concise format that will leave you salivating for more, and it does just that. Don't be surprised if by the end of The Last Gasp you just want to start the whole thing over again. This disc does not have a single weak point, although it does have many standouts throughout the album, and by cutting off any 'excess fat' they really have created a memorable bunch of tunes.

This really is the start of something beautiful. While the band has been around for a good long time already there's no doubt they've finally found their sound and a way to get it out to the people. An impressive album that shows promise for a killer follow-up, this one is going to get a solid 4-stars out of 5. Highly recommended, this may be just the cure for people looking for unique progressive music that is a nice blend of old and new without ever becoming too 'retro'.

Normally is hard to trust a review, because in most cases the critic gives a high rating to an album he likes and a low one to an album he dislikes, doesn't matter the quality, musicianship, skills and composition, most of the times the only parameter a critic considers is his taste, so that's why I have some problem taking many critics too seriously.

But if an amateur reviewer with no particular interest in the band tells you that the album doesn't have the music he normally likes but still gives a high rating, believe him.

In my case I have to be honest Narrow-Caster by 3RDEGREE was not my cup of tea, not even the album I would had bought in a store before listening carefully, but to say it's bad would be a lie, the album is very good, the musicians are surely capable, the composition is impeccable, the blend of styles is done with class and skills, the fact that is not the pompous and melodic music I love, must not cloud my vision, at the end the taste is personal but the quality is universal and Narrow- Caster has quality.

The album begins with Apophenia a track extremely complex from the start, the dissonant introduction is a brilliant example of complex Progressive Rock, my only problem is with the vocals that remind me a bit of Michael Jackson and never liked his voice or music. There's also some obvious YES influence in the track, even when more complex than most of their albums, it's interesting to listen the POP elements blended so perfectly with the extremely complex Prog ones, an excellent work.

It Works has an outstanding Jazzy introduction and again it's interesting to notice how progressively it turns from an elaborate form of fusion to solid Rock, but done gradually so the shock is not too strong. A special mention for the psyche oriented organ, simply brilliant.......As the title of the song, it works.

Narrow-Caster explores the poppier side of 3RDEGREE'S music. flows gently and soft with almost no surprises, but still is pleasant enough for the average listener and sufficiently elaborate for the most demanding audience. Not my cup of tea, but well written and performed.

In Live with this Forever I can listen again that splendid Psyche organ that I like so much, but sadly the vocals turn me off, but when I'm starting to get disappointed, the fantastic instrumental sections give me hope and don't allow me to stop admiring the music. The contrast of styles is simply impressive, and in some moment it gets as pompous and brilliant as you can expect from the best known Prog icon.

Cautionary Tale is a strange mix of BRAND X and EARTH WIND & FIRE, the typical Motown vocal parts contrast with the elaborate, hard and technical instrumentation, I just get more and more impressed with each track, this band has caught the best of two different worlds, even when I love the technical Jazz and dislike most Motown can't deny the work done combining both styles is very good.

The Proverbial Banana Peel has a harder edge from the start, something I like much more, the guitar - keyboard interplay is excellent and the radical changes are more than interesting, the album keeps getting better as he songs pass. At last the vocal work gets closer to what I like, more aggressive and strong, my favorite song at this point.

Young Once begins with a reminiscent PINK FLOYD touch but suddenly changes, if there's something we must learn with his album is to expect the unexpected, in this case they jumped from FLOYD to QUEEN reminiscent brilliantly, and them again to a classical USA Hard Rock style.

What will come next? Honestly I don't know, but I'm willing to investigate.

Scenery presents us a new change, 3RDEGREE has also an acoustic and melodic side and I like it, again reminds me of QUEEN, specially in the vocals which keep sounding better, don't know if there's an improvement or it's just that I got used, but now I like what I hear.

Free for All is absolutely weird and mind blowing, the blend of POP, Hard Rock, Motown Jazzy and even Post Rock elements is mind blowing, a musician really needs skills to blend all of this and still manage to make it sound natural. BTW: The vocals rock in this track.

The album is closed with The Last Gasp another strange song that is time I can't describe or catalogue, there so many things happening on this track that words are not enough.

Still when the album combines things that I like with some I'm not too fond on, all are so well blended that any doubt I had after the first listens has vanished.

Excellent band and very strong album that deserves 4 stars because the quality shines beyond personal tastes. I'm impatient to listen Human Interest Story.

This third release by US act 3rdegree is an interesting one.

Musically we're in the heartland of what was once coined art rock; with strong leanings towards the art pop division. The overall song structure is one of chorus and verse, with some atmospheric insertions now and then, melodies and moods are given the limelight while the guitar in particular is mixed down in the overall soundscape.

Emotional and at times quite melodramatic vocal delivery is a key feature, and flowing and at times quirky segments with backing vocals intermixed with lead vocals is a common feature throughout.

In many ways this one reminds me of US act Man On Fire, and their third release Habitat in particular. The sound and mood are quite similar in many places; but where MOF spice their compositions with elements from pop music and Neo prog, 3rdegree have chosen to insert more adventurous elements in their compositions; dampened dissonances, elements from jazz, heavily distorted guitars way back in the mix...and generally with a stronger leaning towards avant-garde elements; but carefully used and most times placed back in the mix as nuances and textures rather than dominant effects taking over the parts where these effects are utilized.

A strong release overall, well worth checking out if Art Pop of the more adventurous sort sounds like a good thing.

NARROW-CASTER is a good album. But is it really 'Prog'?

This is something I have scratched my head over for the last couple of days as I listened to this album. What makes something progressive? Well, anyone who knows me fairly well should also know that I am very open when it comes to the definition of 'progressive'. I see progressive as anything that is beyond the norm. But how much of this album is truly made up of unorthadox songwriting? From what I'm hearing, 3rDegree has more in common with Maroon 5 than King Crimson.

That being said, it should be noted that NARROW-CASTER is a very good album, as I said, and anyone looking for an easy listening gem will be more than happy with it, but as a Progressive Rock record, it feels a little watered down.

Was that aspect of the record intentional? Perhaps, but if so, one must wonder what type of audience 3rDegree is really aiming for. As far as I can hear, based on this record at least, this band would be more then welcome in the same demographic that listens to Baranaked Ladies or REM. Nothing is wrong with this at all, butwith all the attention NARROW-CASTER has been getting from people on this site, I was expecting more Prog than Pop, and what I got was the exact opposite.

Not to worry, though. The good news is, the musicianship on this album is amazing, the production values rival anything that pro labels are churning out, and the music, while much more accessible than I was expecting, does sound very inspired and heartfelt. As long as a band plays truthful music that comes from their hearts, it can sound radio-friendly and I will still enjoy it.

Perhaps it is a bit unfair to these guys to judge them based only on this album, as I have not heard the first two yet (But I plan on investing in them soon), but from what I hear on this record, the progressive moments are few and far between. Though the outro to ''Young Once'' is still probably my favorite moment on the record and is undeniably progressive and weird. If more moments like this had been present on the albunm, I would have liked it even more, I'm sure.

I'm not trying to knock this album or 3rDegree themselves in any way, but I was seeing these glowing reviews and hearing all this wonderful hype about this record that I suppose I did something I rarely let myself get awy with: I got my hopes up. So, with pre-conceived notions on what type of record I thought NARROW-CASTER was going to be, I got my hopes up and ultimately was ever-so-slightly dissapointed with what I heard. I don't know, it just seemed like not that many risks were taken after all. No song went over six minutes in length, and it seemed like only a handful of the tracks even devianted from the traditional 'verse-chorus-verse-chorus' formula, and that is a real shame, because I can hear the talent within this record's confinements, and had they been a little more willing to deviate from the norm on more frequent occasions, it could have come to fruition more than I feel it did.

Then again, 4/4 time signatures, traditional song structures and easily-digestible melodies when combined with prog ends up becoming the very defenition of what the archives consider 'Crossover Prog' to be, so in that sense, no band has fit the bill for Crossover more snugly than 3rDegree.

I seem to be the first Collaborator to give this album anything less than a 4 rating, so perhaps everyone else is hearing something that I'm not. Ultimately, though, as with everything, this comes down to personal taste, and if you like the more experimental and unusual side of Prog, then NARROW- CASTER may not tickel your fancy as much, but there are still many magical moments on the record, and certainly I am glad that I have heard this band. I feel very fortunate to have it in my collection; it just isn't as 'prog' as I expected.

Three stars, and it's still an album worth listening to. Check it out.

It's been a pleasure listening to this cd the last week or so. This album is like a glass of cold water on a hot day,yeah it's very refreshing.Lets see now,we've got these well crafted songs with intelligent,clever and at times humerous lyrics.We've got 4 guys who play their instruments very well, and a singer who ties it all together with his wide array of vocal styles. "Apophenia" opens with this heavy soundscape that sounds fantastic as the rough vocals arrive.The chorus is a different story with the lighter sound and smooth vocals.The contrasts continue.Love the dreamy interlude 2 1/2 minutes in.It kicks back in a minute later.Passionate vocals end it. "It Works" is jazzy to start with light drums and piano melodies.Reserved vocals join in.The sound does get fuller and check out the bass and organ before 2 minutes.A catchy sound with backup vocals before 4 minutes is a nice touch. "Narrow-Caster" took me by surprise the first time i heard it.That word refreshing comes to mind.This is such an infectious track with this cool groove to it.I like the tone of the guitar solo 1 1/2 minutes in.This is a song that brightens my mood. "Live With This Forever" has some good bottom end to it and i like the organ runs as well.Vocals before a minute.Check out the snarly bass(hi Robert) after 2 1/2 minutes and i like the guitar before 3 1/2 minutes. "Cautionary Tale" opens with a cool vocal arrangement before a good beat takes over.The vocals shine as usual but the rhythm section really grabs my attention on this one.Check out the drum work after 4 minutes to the end! "The Proverbial Banana Peel" is a nasty tune where they get down and dirty.Heavy riffs come and go.I like when they slow it down after 2 1/2 minutes but the sludge continues. "Young Once" is one of my favourites both lyrically and musically.Vocals and strummed guitar to start before the sound gets fuller on the chorus.The guitar makes some noise before 2 1/2 minutes followed by a spacey calm.Time for reflection. "Scenery" is my least favourite although the song gets better as it plays out for me. "Free For All" opens with some mean bass lines before the drums and guitar join in.Vocals follow.The chorus is lighter.The vocals are really impressive during the heavy sections. "The Last Gasp" opens with fragile and theatrical vocals with a pulsating rhythm.The sound and the vocals both get fuller.The contrast continues.Some orchestral-like sounds before 3 minutes. A solid 4 stars and thanks for the drink guys.

I'm always eager to hear new progressive music. Although 3rdegree have been around for quite some time, they're new to my ears. So, when given the opportunity to give their new album, Narrow Caster, I jumped at the chance.

As a whole, there's no denying that this band is wildly gifted. Blending different styles into a cohesive sound for the band cannot be an easy task, but they seem to pull it off. Songs like Apophenia and Free For All maintains an almost King Crimson-esque feel and groove, with growling vocals mixing with softer passages, changing time signatures and intricate drum sequences and fuzzy guitars. It Works to me sounds like something off Porcupine Tree's albums. Then the title track catches me off guard and to my ears sounds like 80's Alan Parsons.

A fellow collab begged the question if this was prog or not. To be perfectly honest, I'm conflicted with the same question. I'm not saying that every prog band requires an epic; however. it is nice to the ears of a progressive rock fan to have that 11-25/30 minute epic in there. Narrow Caster, although pleasant to the ears, seems to be missing a certain key ingredient for me. It's a nice rock album, but not sure if it's a nice progressive rock album. Yes, I've equated them to King Crimson, Alan Parsons and Porcupine Tree and maybe that's where it falls short with me. I'm not a King Crimson fan, nor an Alan Parsons fan. I do like Porcupine Tree, but I find them to be more alternative than progressive. Maybe that's where my problem lies.

To wrap this up, there's nothing to dislike about Narrow Caster. Nicely constructed songs with an edge and melody. It just would've been nice for some ingredients in the batter that makes my progressive pastry extra tasty and a feast for the senses.

In a perfect world, 3rDegree would be signed to a major record label with promotion and would be known as moderate radio stars respected by fellow musicians for their craft. Sort of like Steely Dan. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world and 3rDegree is forced to release these prog.rock gems on their own. They even allude to such in the liner notes as being frustrated in the _land of cover bands New Jersey_ in the nineties. Against these elements, we have the art of 3rDegree. You won't hear any long epics a la _Gates Of Delerium_-Yes, nor any Barbarian-ELPs. But you will hear literate rock&roll songwriting on par with Kevin Gilbert/Toy Matinee, bits of Rush, slight Gentle Giant influence, a little Max Webster, flighty side of 10cc, mid-period Split Enz and a vocal delivery at once sounding not unlike Jeff Buckley...the next an aggressive Stevie Wonder. Also, minor jazz flourishes appear here and there. This is the kind of music that will grow on you. A real knack for nuance and detail. As _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ by Nirvana was the theme for a generation, the track _Cautionary Tale_ by 3rDegree could very well be the theme of the 2000s. If you are a political zealot, the lyrics of _Cautionary Tale_ will check your ego at the door. It manages to question ideoligies of both the 'left' and 'right' of the political, religious and moral spectrum without mentioning any names, organizations, beliefs or creed. It doesn't come across as preachy either. Quite profound. The music is incredible too, sounding like no one but themselves. A definitive 5 stars. It's 3rdDegree's _Tom Sawyer_, a defining track for this band. The first 3 tracks _Apophenia_, _It Works_ and _Narrow-Caster_ flow together like a mini-suite. Another highlight. The track that sounds the most influenced by Gentle Giant would have to be _Scenery_ which has a chanting-like vocal along with some atmospheric GG moments a la _His Last Voyage_ or _Memories of Old Days_. This is sure to make my top 5 of 2009. Highly recommended.