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LOBSTER NEWBERG

Eclectic Prog • United States


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Lobster Newberg picture
Lobster Newberg biography
Lobster Newberg is serving up an innovative debut CD that will satisfy your musical appetite. These contemporary artists from Chicago suburbia are astounding audiences with their intuitive imagination, in a style reminiscent of Pink Floyd and King Crimson. Take finely tuned genres, blend them into a series of songs reeling with the technical ability of this unique band, and you have a sound for which we have long awaited. Constantly challenging themselves to produce music that is intriguingly inventive, they reach into unconventional territory. Lobster Newberg offers a modern concept in music which is hard to find today. While members all have different tastes in music, they create songs that are a breath of fresh air. Fans have found their music an unexpected welcome in a music scene that is stagnant. Colin Peterik who nimbly runs the keyboard also sings on the tracks. "Our music doesn't age. Listen to it now or 20 years from now. It'll still be new. it'll still be fascinating."

Paradox, a track off their debut CD, Vernal Equinox, speaks to their wide range of musical interests and to the ability of Lobster Newberg to express it all in a complementing wave of synchronicity. And then there's Happy Together, a refreshing rendition of The Turtles' classic tune, showing this band's love of the past integrated with a modern conceptual approach. All the original songs are collaboratively written and deliver complex, multi-layered interlocking arrangements. It's been far too long since we've seen this polished molding of sound and word. Once you try this recipe for Lobster Newberg, you'll never go back to the same old thing again.

official biography, taken (with the band's permission) from myspace.com/lobsternewberg



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Approved by the Eclectic Prog Team



Discography:
Vernal Equinox (studio album, 2007)

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LOBSTER NEWBERG discography


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LOBSTER NEWBERG top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.94 | 19 ratings
Vernal Equinox
2007
3.60 | 26 ratings
Actress
2009

LOBSTER NEWBERG Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

LOBSTER NEWBERG Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

LOBSTER NEWBERG Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

LOBSTER NEWBERG Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

LOBSTER NEWBERG Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Actress by LOBSTER NEWBERG album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.60 | 26 ratings

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Actress
Lobster Newberg Eclectic Prog

Review by ClemofNazareth
Special Collaborator Prog Folk Researcher

3 stars A bit of trivia, something I always love to uncover when discovering new music: Colin Peterik, the lead singer and keyboardist for Lobster Newberg is the son of former Ides of March ("Vehicle") and Survivor ("Eye of the Tiger") guitarist Jim Peterik. Neither here nor there I suppose, but it helps explain the young lad's knowledge of progressive arrangements and general ability to craft a pop tune with some meaty hooks.

Lobster Newberg has released a couple albums as near as I can tell, both of them self- released and generally impossible to find. In fact, I'm still looking for the first one and may have to resort to the dreaded iTunes. This isn't progressive music per se, but the band does have a penchant for taking what are basically pop tunes and embellishing them with horns, keyboards and some bouncy bass bits to give the impression of something with more substance than it probably really has.

A few tracks stand out among the fluff: "Lost" for example has a catchy keyboard sequence that shifts and moves around the choppy vocals and chameleon-like guitar riffs that weave in and around Peterik's stilted keyboard playing; and "Bed" is a really smooth, seductive pop song that reminds me of Sigmund Snopek III's epic release "WisconInsane", which also means it pays some tribute to the eclectic stylings of Elvis Costello at his finest. If that's your kind of music you're bound to find something to like here.

And "Silver Cities" would probably be considered a decent prog tune if it appeared on a Gentle Giant or even Fripp album instead of an indie release. If you close your eyes and don't look at the album cover you can maybe even convince yourself to take it seriously.

Otherwise this is good pop but nothing to go gaga over. Peterik at least has some promise as a songwriter and may yet find some success if he can manage to surround himself with equal talent and find a label willing to put a little money into development and promotion. Hope so for his sake, but in the meantime the band and this album will wallow in obscurity. Help a brother out and pick this one up if you come across it; supporting artistic talent is what music appreciation is all about after all. Three stars just because these songs make me happy.

peace

 Actress by LOBSTER NEWBERG album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.60 | 26 ratings

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Actress
Lobster Newberg Eclectic Prog

Review by Epignosis
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Imagine Gentle Giant evolving into the twenty-first century, not merely rehashing old techniques, but adopting an even fuller sound and picking up a few jazz rock and alternative elements along the way- that is Lobster Newberg in a nutshell. This band squeezes so much into such short track times, a skill not an awful lot of progressive rock artists have. Colin Peterik's lead vocals are very indie-sounding and should find favor with a wide audience. Seriously though, Derek Shulman and Kerry Minnear would fit right in with this troupe. Folks, this is a sophomore album that is not to be missed, especially by fans of the aforementioned group. It doesn't hurt that there's a pair of gorgeous gams on the cover, either. Oh yeah- it's bouncy!

"Set Your Sails" Crunchy guitars and frantic organ and piano begin the album. There's a bit of saxophone raunchiness in the middle section, followed by a squealing guitar solo. Upbeat, peppy- this works perfectly as an opening track.

"Stay" A buoyant, jazzy track (wherein the vocalist sounds a bit like John Mayer), this piece has nice flute and guitar runs with a sprightly rhythm. The refrain is on the heavier side, but has a slight Gentle Giant flavor. The organ and flute interplay in the middle is really cool, and just then the band launches into a fuller segment with some odd piano bits.

"Bug City" This song has a slight blues-rock feel, with vocals over musical stops followed by the main riff. The bass work stands out to me, but there's a wonderful brass section, which I know would please Chicago fans. The studio banter at the end shows even more of the band's lighthearted side.

"Lost" The clavichord, electric guitar, and organ work hard over some drums and bass to create a thick, varied wall of music. The vocal line is very creative, and the instrumental section is like a heavier, fuller interpretation of that eerie-sounding part during Gentle Giant's "Schooldays." The refrain is equally imaginative, with amazing melodies and musicianship.

"Wonderful" The shortest track has lovely flute, piano, acoustic guitar, and Mellotron. It has a great melody, and makes for a decent song overall.

"Demian" Moving between complex rhythms and extremely simple vocal sections, this piece isn't quite to my liking, as a lot of it sounds forced, but it still manages to showcase the band's tightness and talent. The electric guitar and piano interplay is not to be missed, however.

"Illusion" Delicate piano and acoustic guitar start up the lengthiest track. The initial vocal section is decidedly simplistic, perhaps staying safe, but the actual singing is extremely well done. Lovely piano and organ weave their way over a punctuating rhythm, introducing heavy guitar and saxophone. This is a rich piece of music, full of life and happiness.

"Bed" I knew this song would be my favorite the very first time I heard it. I almost felt I could say that just by hearing the dreamy introduction and interludes. It boasts brilliant vocal passages and a great brass section (something I'm not big on generally).

"Tight Rope" This is a jaunty number, laced with harmonica and an animated rhythm. The bass solo is killer, right along with the harmonica and electric guitar jam.

"Silver Cities" The beginning of this piece, the piano notwithstanding, sounds like latter-day Rush to me, mostly thanks to the steady drumming and trebly bass work. The smooth vocals begin abruptly, and the song over all is good, if forgettable.

"Have You Ever Been Alone" The final track has some excellent organ and bass work throughout. The vocals are, as expected, good, and the overall, there's a bit of a reggae tinge. The bright instrumental section is highly sophisticated, with an awful lot going on.

 Actress by LOBSTER NEWBERG album cover Studio Album, 2009
3.60 | 26 ratings

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Actress
Lobster Newberg Eclectic Prog

Review by maryes

4 stars Into my review about the second albun for this excellent North American band, I must emphasize wich although they continue shows the same versatility- due to their influences ( already mention in my review about their debut albun "Vernal Equinox")- wich at this point of their trajectory begin to come new influences while others seems more soften, fact wich in my opinion represents a search for an own identity. The mainly new approaches are, pinchs of jazz, passages in the Gentle Giant vein and a use more generous of the wind instruments (proportionate for the guest musicians) , and in a moment I cleary listen a passage wich reminds me "The Sensational Alex Harvey Band". I consider this new undertaking a little less enthusiastic than the previous albun, but even so my rate is 4 stars
 Vernal Equinox by LOBSTER NEWBERG album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.94 | 19 ratings

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Vernal Equinox
Lobster Newberg Eclectic Prog

Review by maryes

4 stars Excellent debut of this North American band. In their first work Vernal.Equinox bring to us a very complex - but not "indigestible" - ecletic prog, mixing, a bit of space prog in Pink Floyd vein mainly in certain vocals passages (listen the first track), something of art-rock and mostly heavy-prog demonstrate a great influence of Uriah Heep in almost all tracks. I said wich in spite this suit of "inspirations" the music is not "indigestible", due to the fact of the themes are relatively shorts and the songs flowing in a direct structure, predicate wich turns easy the audience even in the first contact. For this reason my rate is 4 stars, stand out my wish to give - if possible 4,5 stars !!!
 Vernal Equinox by LOBSTER NEWBERG album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.94 | 19 ratings

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Vernal Equinox
Lobster Newberg Eclectic Prog

Review by Ricochet
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars One of the newest progressive bands in town, Lobster Newberg, has the full power to start from a casual point and evolve into something of a better and more special band. That's why, from showing the craft and verve of a young rock band, in such a normal way, they expand to a whole lot deeper expressions, once progressive rock becomes - almost - their heaviest source of imagination and inspiration (the first, true, bit more seldom); that's why, lining apparently together with all the new (US) bands that are not only home-trained but also unluckily independent (surely though LN will score a hit or two with the record labels, if they keep their chin up), they quickly detached by choosing a crystal clear and serious style, instead of a nice but lurking "indie", experimental, mellow-headed or retro first shot. That's why, in the end, their massive (hard-worked for sure) and complex identity also leads to a musical result of the same intensity - it's a result currently regarded impressive by popular prog fans and good "specialists", with hopes, of course, of the fanlist getting bigger.

Preferences can augment differently upon listening to Vernal Equinox, but the music begs to differ, no doubt, when the given credit is rather low, out of a couple of simple reasons: a stuffed-till-the-last-space long album with progressive rock of a crafted (and just some good measures away from being superior too) effect, a heavy dose of music and ideas that occasionally exchanges "freshness" for a too strict originality, and a top sense of playing like artists, more or less achievingly. Of course that their debut can please from moderately upwards, given the kind of prog rock tastes it's addressed to (or a sum of moments that can't shine in any way preciously), maybe it's even the beginning of a deeper career and a mightier impression, but regardless of both scenarios, Lobster Newberg make their step with a refined grip, plus their creativity is on top of things, unconditionally. Working sturdily on instrumentalism, they do interact with the nature of fusion, jam or alternative rock, but their grip on the first is less concrete, while the contemporary taste of the other ones simply opens an explosion of tangs. The vocals are usually much lighter in use, but always follow the path of the main style. Much of the prog rock influences they state are reflected in the music with the bit of incandescence, otherwise a few moments from Vernal Equinox would sound too much as fishy covers: Van der Graaf Generator, King Crimson, Led Zep are hot drives, whilst Zappa's and several others' sway allude where LN's disconnected compass is pointing.

With a intermingled music of art rock, art jam, pure prog and finally simple and clean mainstream drops, Lobster Newberg seriously fill every minute of Vernal Equinox, not at all surprising for a CD recorded session, still influencing on the quality and the dazzle of the music with a nice load of pros and at least one cons: the fragile impression of an overloaded work, by which all the complex and stretched pieces hide somewhere some bugs and cists; more importantly though, Vernal Equinox needs to be expected as a hard-pressed and not so shabby to listen album, otherwise you'll often get the feeling that after just 5 pieces (of a total 11 + 1) it's been already 50 minutes since you started listening. The price for a tough breakthrough seems to be a full experiment of modern, electric, dark, alembicated and progressive rock, the pay-off coming overall "sehr stark". At how lengthy some of the toughest piece are, the 12 minutes Wentworth doesn't even come as an epic contrast anymore, being a late and final bang, plus sounding more weird and simpler before entering some cold improvisations. The album evolves in mostly two parts, the first fill being made of fusion, eclectic pieces, with the instrumental band trying different themes each time - the keyboards alone have a constancy in covering some classic prog rhythms, melodies and atmospheres, while the vocalist is either singing a la Porcupine Tree or modern pop, either jamming with his lyrics, unsourly. The second part of Vernal Equinox tends to be more experimental and nervous, the appearance of mixes and special effects playing a gift-less hardstream.

These being said, Lobster Newberg's debut proves musically, and not just by rumours, that the band has hit a big sweep with its craft and its prog passion. To such a powerful, exciting and much better than the average album, the "rate" can go up a little and reflect the tonic qualities of the music, and afterwards the kind of impression it skinmarks on the listener.

Thanks to Ricochet for the artist addition.

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