PARADISE MOVES

Not sitting at the top of 80's Prog bands, but Airbridge deserve a mention among the acts trying to keep the prog flame alive in the Islands during the 80's.They came from Norwich and were formed in 1980 by Lorenzo Bedini (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Edward Percival (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Sean Godfrey (bass, vocals) and David Beckett (drums).They were a monster live act, visiting London quite often and performing numerous times at the legendary Marquee Club, while they served as a supporting act to Marillion and Pallas among others.In 1982 they released their debut ''Paradise moves'' on the tiny Carve-Up Records label.

While the typical echoes of the mass of 80's British Prog are fully present on this album, Airbridge had their own distinctive approach, even if their original ideas did not always lead to memorable or trully solid songwriting.They sounded a bit more into the New Wave seas compared, let's say, to Marillion or IQ, and thus the best comparisons would be TWELFTH NIGHT or THIRD QUADRANT.Add some nice and romantic vocals in the process to get an idea of a smooth and refined sound.They drew influences from the likes of PINK FLOYD and GENESIS, but the average production and mix were not helping the album sound very cohesive and up there with the best period albums.They did show though hints of a talented act, they mixed light keyboards and background synth-led atmospheres with soft GENESIS-like guitar preludes and lyrical emotions and there are even an apparent BEATLES'-like songwriting to be found in here.But there are also a couple of dull moments, when the band flirts dangerously with uninteresting Synth Pop and New Wave, prooving how sensitive things around Prog Rock were at the time.The title-track and the pretty much GENESIS-inspired and slightly theatrical ''Wavelength'' are the best cuts on the album, while the closing ''Visitation'' shows some great potentional, surfacing as a mix between EM and MIKE OLDFIELD/CAMEL-like guitar moves.

A single titled ''Words and pictures'' was recorded in 1983, featuring keyboardist Stephen Bennett in the place of Bedini.When Bennett left to join Lahost (he also was a founding member of 00's progsters Henry Fool) along with Sean Godfrey, Percival kept the band alive for a short time, recording the never-released album ''Beyond the veil''.In 2009 Bedini and Godfrey revived the band with singers Pavla Kristkova and Mark Spencer (previously also of Lahost and later with Twelfth Night), but this formation lasted only for a year.Former sound technician of the band Dave Dowdeswell-Allaway then joined on drums, before Godfrey left in 2013 due to cancer treatment, to be replaced by Matt Gamble.A new work is expected to be released in the following months.

Second-class 80's British Prog.In the same vein as TWELFTH NIGHT, but not that inventive, while the music often becomes too light and accesible, heavily relying on vocals than on instrumental parts.People in love with these romantic years of Prog history should be propably the ones to give this album a spin...2.5 stars.

Apparently Airbridge were among the earliest neoprog groups to record an album; band member interviews in the neoprog history article in the January 2024 issue of Prog Magazine even claim they recorded it in 1981, but this may be a case of fuzzy memory since so far as I can tell from my own research the album was recorded in the spring of 1982 and held back for about a year.

In the same article, it's suggested that the delay may have been to the detriment of Airbridge's long term success - the difference between being perceived as pioneers of the movement and bandwagon hoppers. I'm unconvinced. What's here isn't all that compelling - a somewhat naïve, Genesis-influenced sound without the extra bite that the early neoprog groups all managed to work into their approach in different ways. One suspects this would have been lost in the shuttle whenever it came out. From the ashes of Airbridge came LaHost, who ended up being a bit more interesting, but it was too little too late and they wrapped without ever recording a full album, so I guess that's one thing Airbridge has over the successor group.