ARGOS

Made of many twists and turns this is THE wondrous cornucopia of impressions per se - folk, canterbury, jazz, symphonic, pop - all styles brewed to a compelling prog masterpiece which also comes damn grooving in between. Of course you won't miss the beloved mellotron and Robert Gozon's Hammill alike vocals are striking again. Then Paper Ship Dreams is presented with special ease - a charming Canterbury tune juggling with strong Caravan leanings. Featuring riffing guitars, powerful drums, the last two songs Caught Within The Light and Open Book show them back on a heavier edge then, leaning into the curve again so to say.

ARGOS celebrate and refine their own significant style with 'Cruel Symmetry' once again. Concerning the instrumental skills their best album probably, the song Possessions however might work better as a non vocal take in my humble opinion. This time the album's character mirrors more leanings to pop (Beatles) and folk than ever, I'm inclined to say. That means - if you are in agreement with some parts which are a bit light in weight, then nothing should withhold you. I recommend to concentrate on the compositional impact in general - and the multiple details so much the more - it's worth it. And this applies to every album they've produced so far - 3.5 stars.

For when you listen to tracks such as Custody Of The Knave, and, indeed, much of this album, the one primary influence that screams out is Hamill and Van Der Graaf Generator. Indeed, the similarity is so obvious in the vocals, I have to ask myself whether vocalist Robert Gozon, especially, is a twin of Hamill and somehow lost his way to Germany.

Elsewhere, the instrumentation also harks back strongly in terms of flute and mellotron, especially, to Trespass era Genesis, with a massive dollop of Canterbury Scene thrown in as well, something which is especially evident on the very solid short track, Willow Wind.

The band do, by the way, put paid to that terrible old joke/theory about Germans not having a sense of humour by putting out the rather quirky, and brilliantly named, Total Mess Retail. Very jazzy, it bears absolutely no semblance to Close To The Edge whatsoever. It is, in fact, a very eclectic track, and rather experimental, and could have done with rather more than the 3:47 on offer here.

The longest track. Lost On The Playground, is very reminiscent of Ye Olde England Kentish prog, but is a very pleasant listen, and features some good work from Rico Florcak on guitar especially.

There is not a bad track on this album. All is very solidly performed and produced, and is designed particularly to appeal to those fans of retro prog. What the band have done well, in my opinion, is to avoid the very nasty, and ultimately self defeating, trap of seeking to emulate only one band or style as their baseline. Instead, what we have here is a very pleasant smorgasbord of differing 1970's style prog, which is a good listen, but not in any way groundbreaking.

Three stars for this, an album which seems strangely out of time in 2010. Of course, this review should alert true fans of retro prog, because there is much in here that will appeal to you.

Argos is a young German neo-prog band, on the heavier side of the genre. The band has a great eclectic and dissonant style, with a heavy use of bass and spacey electric piano. Circles, the band's sophomore album, fleshes out this unique style, showing the young band's promise and unique light in the genre. Each song has a great feel to them, with an eclectic sense of jazz, neo fusion, and some nice great symphonic elements as well. Of course, neo-progressive rock is one of those 'circular' genres that no one really knows what it truly is, and we can just assume that Argos can be described by such a genre. The whole album is full of catchy melodies and great harmonies that keep the compositions spicy and full of great proggy vigor. The songs are upbeat, jovial, and have a really nice atmosphere about them. Reminiscent of the Flower Kings fused with Marillion, the band has a creative style, with more nostalgic themes to keep you seated without too much 'worry' about outlandish attempts at experimentation.

The band is able to keep quite a steady feel to the album, with some funky bass lines, retro synth, mellotron, and Hammond lines, and some upbeat jazzy rhythms. The melodies are engaging and nicely harmonized with the music. The music is catchy, fused with pop elements, but still able to keep a level-headed prog spectrum in mind when playing. Songs like A Thousand Years, Total Mess Recall, Lost on the Playground, and Progology have a really awesome upbeat feel to them, keeping you tuned into the music and attentive to the great compositions (Total Mess Recall is a personal favorite of mine). Then, songs like Closed Circle, Lines on the Horizon, and The Gatekeeper have a more intensive, sometimes melancholy, sometimes intense musical feel to them, which edges them closer to the 'metal' section of the neo-prog genre. Overall, nearly the entire album is genius tracks, combining funk, jazz, prog, symphonic rock, and a host of other elements to fuse into a fantastic album.

Overall, the album is great. Full of countless memorable moments and some really fantastic instrumental sections, the album is certainly a memorable moment in recent neo- prog history. It may not be a masterpiece, but this album is certainly a great collection of tracks. With many dynamics, little moments that contribute to the whole atmosphere of the music, and many other little tidbits, the album is great. I highly recommend this album to any fan of neo-prog, symphonic rock, or even jazz fusion, because of all the great jazzy elements in the music. In the end, Circles is one of the more memorable albums of the past year (2010). 4 stars.

Favorite tunes: "Lines on the Horizon" (5:48) with a surprising turn or twist every ten to twenty seconds (9/10); the stunning, BOWIE-like "Sun and Moon" (3:36) (10/10); the better-than-PETE HAMMILL/MATTHEW-PARMENTER, "Custody of the Knave" (6:05) (8/10); the straight-out-of- Canterbury, "Progology" (5:16) (9/10); and the incredibly melodic and memorable tongue-in-cheek JTULL/GENESIS/CARAVAN parody, "Lost on the Playground" (8:18) (9/10).

A four star album of very clever, very accomplished songs from an obviously gifted songwriter.

As on their initial effort, Argos has crafted themselves a charming retro-oriented CD with sophomore effort "Circles". This time around they seek to carve out their own niche in the universe of retro-oriented symphonic bands, and while arguably not among the most adventurous of these outfits their thorough approach and obvious passion for the type of music they explore makes them well worth seeking out by fans of 70's oriented symphonic art rock.

This new album was completely worked out on their own with love for detail (recording, mixing, mastering, cover artwork). While exploring the booklet the front cover is something to think about especially. The circle according to the album title - built up by a marching band which probably are representing the vintage retro aspect of the album. Finally we have the @ char which stands for the modern internet dominated society. And indeed you will find several comments within the song notes pointing to inspirations taken from several websites, speaking of the lyrics for example.

To pick up some impressions from diverse songs now ... the short keyboard dominated Sammelsurium covers some german recitative and a fantastic drive due to Ulf Jacobs' intriguing drum work. Or on the contrary just take the wonderful eclectic ballad Custody Of The Knave - when I hear Robert Gozon singing the lead vocals I'm often remembered at Peter Hammill. Lines On The Horizon seems to be the most charming one, very melodic with delicate flute and keyboard support (including mellotron) ... so much the more provided with stunning variety. Everytime I come to this song it sounds different somehow. Or to describe it in another way - and this basically fits for most of the songs - what seems to be relatively simple at first proves to be something tricky finally.

A Thousand Years musically expresses some sort of optimism as for my impression, a strong, powerful and excited exemplar - at least matching for some parts. Speaking of Sun And Moon next I want to mention the impressing guitar contributions. The symphonic The Gatekeeper is decorated with some Erich Kästner poetry (excerpts of 'Der Oktober') - an epic which is comparable to Big Big Train's masterpiece 'The Underfall Yard'. Nearly working in the same way Lost On The Playground is pointed out as the true showcase of their new band member ... and indeed, you will hear Rico Florcak alternating between riffing rhythm and soaring solo guitar work.

So far so good ... even if two or three tracks lose potential a bit 'Circles' can be already counted among the 2010 big hits. The compositions are surely picking up influences from diverse prog bands. However, the songs are ARGOS typical in the end, compact - which means melody, melancholy, instrumental and vocal variety, short solos, turns and breaks are blended to something fresh and impressing. This is the real deal - they have worked out an entertaining album. 'Circles' is dedicated to lovers of charming prog songs provided with a symphonic and canterbury outfit - highly recommended!

"Nursed by Giants part 1: Killer" Plinking tones begin the album, which soon give way to organ, electric guitar, and a bouncy little rhythm section. The vocals are surprisingly low, while the keyboards are largely kept in Tony Banks mode for most of this peppy track track.

"Nursed by Giants part 2: The King Of Ghosts" This song reminds me of Gentle Giant toward the end, particularly because of the giddy counterpoint vocals section, but is a pleasant one that also makes me think of The Beatles in the beginning.

"Nursed by Giants part 3: Black Cat" Another Gentle Giant-sounding track (interesting title in this respect, methinks), this one combines that post-Gabriel Genesis synthetic sound with softer vocal passages- all rather similar to the Gentle Giant number of the same name.

"Nursed by Giants part 4: A Name In The Sand" Acoustic guitar and Pink Floyd-like vocals make up this fourth part. In fact, it's very similar to Pink Floyd all around.

"Nursed by Giants part 5: Core Images" In a bizarre twist, the band adopts a heavy Van der Graaf Generator sound, complete with vocals that sound just like Peter Hammill. There's some dazzling synthesizer work also.

"Canterbury Souls part 1: The Hat Goes North" Soft electric piano, some flute, and a straightforward beat makes for a decent, jazzy pop tune.

"Canterbury Souls part 2: Young Person's Guide To Argos" Mellotron and synthetic brass introduce sputtering electronic tones, drums and organ.

"Canterbury Souls part 3: Ten Fingers Overboard" While not a bad piece, this tends to be even more faceless than the previous pieces, but does has some good organ in it.

"Canterbury Souls part 4: Norwegian Stone Shortage" The final part of the second suite is more akin to Muzak, and lacks consistency, more or less jumping from one musical idea to the next rather haphazardly. Still, it has a good jazz vibe and isn't unpleasant at all.

"From Liverpool To Outer Space part 1: Further Apart" The simplest portion of the album is the third one. This is a song with straightforward vocals and a soft piano providing the chords.

"From Liverpool To Outer Space part 2: Time For Love" A light peppy song, this is similar to the previous track, but with a happier feel and some rather familiar lyrics ("There's a time for love, and the time is now").

"From Liverpool To Outer Space part 3: Meet The Humans" Harpsichord in a major key gives way to Mellotron, electronic percussion, and light vocals.

"From Liverpool To Outer Space part 4: Elektro-Wagner" Synthetic yet orchestral, this terse piece has charm and serves as a nice bit of music.

"From Liverpool To Outer Space part 5: Passing Through" The final piece sounds like another blend of The Beatles and Gentle Giant with a little oomph in the drumming department. It's quite good, and I rather like the refrain.