DISTRICT 97

Hunt is always in control, and it takes someone with serious chops to be the vocal focus when they are in this band as this is a significant release with a great deal going for it. The songs switch and move, and everything I felt was missing from the last album is here in spades with powering performances from everyone and songs which are consistently interesting and changing direction so one is never sure what is going to happen next as keyboards and guitar vie for dominance, yet there is also a lot of piano underneath. It is heavily layered, with a very rich palette indeed, yet never feels too bombastic or over the top. Drummer and percussionist Jonathan Schang said, "After 15 years of leading District 97, I'm thrilled that we continue to push ourselves to new heights in every realm of our music making. This is the strongest collection of songs we've ever assembled." Compared with their last release I certainly see where he comes from with that statement, as while it is not a perfect album, the introduction to "Many New Things" being a fine example, there is a great deal here to enjoy. On this album Hunt certainly puts forward a case for being one of the finest female prog singers out there, and this is an album which will certainly intrigue many progheads, especially if they are interested in great interplay at speed combined with great vocals.

So why does it sound like prog? That would be drummer Jonathan Shang. There are no drums in the original, just four instruments (violin, cello, clarinet, & piano) in unison throughout. Messiaen writes bar lines, but no time signatures, with every bar a different length. Shang's entirely invented part emphasizes the extreme unpredictability of the rhythm, and the jazzy syncopations. Towards the end, he takes advantage of Messiaen's long notes to create thrilling drum breaks. Shang enhances Messiaen's music without detracting from it, a heck of an achievement. The whole arrangement packs a wallop that the original cannot match.

In fact, it's one of the few arrangements, classical or otherwise, that is better than the original! When I performed the original Messiaen QFTEOT a few years ago, I made all my colleagues listen to D97's version, so we could try to capture the same spirit. I doubt if you can find a physical copy anymore, but it is available on the band's website to listen to for free. Better yet, download it for your collection, and give D97 some money for their efforts. They are certainly worth supporting.

Now they have released 'Stay for the Ending', I'm back onboard, big time! This is a great album that is likely to be overlooked and underrated. The song structures are as complex as ever, with powerhouse vocals from Leslie and Jim, and brilliant interplay between Jim's guitar riffs and solos, and Andrew's keyboards. It sounds a bit weird to say this, but they make prog rock accessible without any making compromise. It's always a temptation to edit out the angular riffs and unusual time signatures in a bid to become more popular, to expand your audience. This is, happily, not the case with District 97. I do really hope they reach a wider audience though, as their brilliance, accessibility, and abundant virtuosity deserves more attention. This is a thoroughly enjoyable album that has the best of both worlds - great vocals and powerful, moving music.

Good luck, guys!

"Stay for the Ending" puts its feet in the dish directly offering a convoluted, nervous rock where Leslie's voice denotes common progressive voices; here it is soft, plaintive, playful, rhythmic, like a very complex tune, a bit on a more symphonic RUSH; a strong sensation of swirling music; the break with a crazy prog metal solo and a melodic keyboard, it starts strong. "Mirror" with the limpid, liquid, progressive intro; the riff that follows sets things on fire, the phrasing drives the point home, the tune does not fit into the conventional progressive shackles, here it is energy, flexibility and worked harmony; the piano, the tune of a Joe JACKSON who would have thought rock rather than pop; the violent break with drums and guitars before being joined by a solemn piano; Leslie and Jim for a PORCUPINE TREE-style finale and an enjoyable crescendo, a slap; At one point I thought I heard Peter GABRIEL telling you this. "Many New Things" and the opening slap, ambient air inviting lethargy, electronic pad which drifts on a new wave pop tune à la Björk, striking; the Frippian redundant bass of Tony LEVIN in a dream; a Crichtonian guitar solo yes SAGA is in my ropes, in short it continues. "Crossover" yes, a juice from MEER that I loved recently, a fresh sound, hold the keyboard which plays it "perfect" like Adam HOLZMAN playing with WILSON; ah the heavy break chorus à la 'Thrak' which accompanies Leslie, it seems out of tune but it's super worked, complicated, disorienting and hilarious. "Divided We Fall" starts with a nervous rock, pop tendency with Jim who comes to help with the vocals; an enchanting air going towards hushed groovy-jazzy and hard atmospheres, all well mixed; you have to take the time but it's very innovative, well done.

"Life Cycle" spatial, watery, crystalline intro; a Wilsonian bass to set the mood, a de facto ballad with a finale which will swell towards a more tense style and Leslie who delicately places her voice on top. "X" intro you will have understood, reading the following title; bass, thrumming bass, ethereal and "X-Faded" arrives, rock like Chrissie HYNDE at the start; very quickly a cavernous riff comes to throw trouble; Leslie in a loud voice, you have to get used to it, I admit, but afterward it's fun, not to mention Nirvana, sublime; piece navigating on musical sweetness/revolt and an explosion in the chorus which gives humidity in the back until the tribal finale. "Deck is Stacked" riff a la SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, SCATTERBRAIN on 'Here comes trouble', rhythmic, energetic, deep heavy groove, always a sound of the master JACKSON in the background; a break with a Zappian solo, on a well- struck FAITH NO MORE; prolonged listening, as in the days of prog, causes the sound to blend pleasantly; here is a drum solo in our time, amazing for daring to put Jonathan forward, he deserves it with this distinctive and singular hit "The Watcher" metronomic wooden piano; percussion by Jonathan, Leslie in a cappella; it finally rises to an agreed tune, the prog magic is in fact working; Tim's imposing bass; observer and creator of an avant- garde sound Leslie imposes; the sharp riff countering a childish piano melody just before the instrumental debauchery, a jerky explosion caught up by this piano; two-part finale with a captivating jerky sound.

DISTRICT 97 the group not the film with a 7 less, although in the film it was a crazy, incredible, caustic atmosphere; diverse musical themes, varied influences which give a unique sound; themes about the human experience with its ups and downs; a sound amalgamating various and new progressive rocks; a composition where the musical performance mixes and manages to give a new, prodigious sound; WALLENBERG who worked with ALAN PARSONS is not there by chance; a summary of progressive rock that ignores future criticism, an album with the sensitivity of MEER, with the angry side of a PORCUPINE TREE, a RUSH, a Joe JACKSON, a very beautiful album.

It must be said this is quite an unusual album in many ways, as not only is there a bringing together of multiple different styles, but there are times when it really doesn't work and times when it really does. There is no doubt whatsoever that Hunt is a wonderful singer, and I was surprised to realise how much she reminded me of P!nk, not only in the tone and range but also the way she uses a catch in her voice at times to provide a certain inflection. She's not coming to this like a progressive or classical singer, but someone with far more of a pop rock sound. As for the band, they are as tight as one can imagine, with keyboards often being a very important part of the sound and guitars even non-existent, although there are times when they are certainly front and centre. For me the issue here is that the band don't seem to have settled on what they want to achieve, so a basic power ballad can turn into something else with dominant fusion drums, but does that change it, make it better, or is a detraction?

It is a very polished album, with plenty of harmony vocals and layers, but it also feels very commercial even for a crossover release. There are passages and sections here I absolutely love, but others where it just feels too bland. Mike Portnoy is quoted as saying, "District 97 continue to prove to be one of the most unique bands in modern Prog!". I'll agree with that statement in that I haven't come across another band quite like it, and for someone from American Idol to have made a move in this direction should be highly applauded as it must been done for the love of the music as opposed to being about making money, but for me there is something missing, no core reality.

"Forest Fire" begins the album with a riff rock metal, an air groove trend with the female voice of Leslie in line with what was admirably Joe Jackson in its infancy; there are also an almost disconcerting jazzy rhythm, the air becomes epileptic, on the border merger, the chorus am back in the eponymous album of ANYONE who worked in her punk- metal crazy but oh so innovative. "Sheep" in the intro riff planing and energetic exudes a strange, strange with this nasty metal riff and phrasing that seems to glide above logically, bringing us to a building where TOOL, KING CRIMSON or Faith No More could be cited as inspiring, but also in part 2 ZAPPA more jazzy, more "frippienne" too; Attention plays more will be needed to sink into this musical world if you did not know District 97 before that note! "Sea I Provide" little piece more dancing, more pop, more rhythmic and also a low ubiquitous piece to take as an interlude. "Brain and Yarn" comes for the first slap of the album: warm electric piano to Joe Jackson, dual voice of Leslie and Jim quite plaintive, orgasmic rise and crescendique (yes it is a neologism but I like! ) while pace; as the first chords could leave a little circumspect about his singular as there is left for osmosis: note the second part with sax pulling more on the atmosphere "crimsonienne" than that of LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, that they quoted often willingly in their infancy, to listen urgently. "Trigger" from there on a warm way, more curved and less brutal with more singing voice and giving reply to the guitar riff; it becomes energetic, time to take us back to phrasing and an explosive end enjoyable.

"After Orbit Mission" and the interlude that kills a bass Tim who sends us on Jupiter or Saturn, as did so Michael Anthony of Van Halen in its time, it's just perfect, time to continue with "Shapeshifter" very rhythmic groove again and there an informed voice, airy, jazzy, leading us on a rhythmic way and finesse, the bass is again paying a pure moment of happiness before the keyboard are put some of its lug; polyrhythms seem here to give meaning to his a priori unstructured but eventually organized. "Blueprint" occurs on a jazzy air SADE, drums with delicacy, giving choirs in search of masters, DREAM THEATER or LIQUID TENSION experment again for singular solo; Voice linking almost sounds too incisive with angelic delicacy. "Ghost Girl" arrives for the second slap to the album soft voice, almost whispered, basic piano to set the tone and nervous break even with this phrasing heard of ANYONE (2001'll see it's also amazing!) or that of Faith No More Mike Patton; So the pace up a notch, the voice becomes more present and back to a more manageable pace, this voice seems to stick to instruments, unless it is they who follow the convolutions of Leslie brief when I say that the prog death is a fact, but DISTRICT 97 with its own musicality recalls that children and small children-may give resurgence in the years 2010 and 2020;

DISTRICT 97 so that the crossover prog, this word does not speak to me, too encompassing genres, too many different groups. District 97 is the intelligent music, original music, good music. DISTRICT 97 creates a sound crucible of tunes, sounds quite new and charming; I leave you, I turn to listen even if it is not my favorite genre; I'm me without noticing!

In October of 2019, the band released their 4th full-length studio album called 'Screens'. The band line up now consists of Leslie Hunt on vocals, Andrew Lawrence on keyboards and additional guitar, Jim Tashjian on guitar, Tim Seisser on bass, and Jonathan Schang on drums and percussion. Even though Jim Tashjian was not part of the original line-up, he did become guitarist after Sam Krahn left and played on the first album. Only Leslie, Jim and Jonathan were part of the debut album and, as noted, the band has seen several line-up changes through the years. This album has a total of 9 tracks and a total run time of 49 minutes.

Interestingly enough, the band does retain a certain level of complexity in their melodies, even in the lyrical content and the vocals. Leslie's vocals are pretty decent and fit the music well. She has a talent for phrasing which is important in this style of music. The instrumental solos and backup are quite well done too. The music is a bit dark and the guitars and bass are heavy. The band claims that the music prior to producing records was along the lines of Liquid Tension Experiment, and after hearing this album, I find more credence in that claim, though I haven't heard their pre-album music. Now, however, the music is not as complex as that, but it does still retain enough complexity to keep it all interesting, and several listenings might be required for many people to appreciate everything that is going on.

While the opener 'Forest Fire' is fast and heavy, 'Sheep' is more dynamic, moving from quiet, thoughtful passages to sections that feature jazzy piano riffs to other parts that are quite progressive and heavy. The music is not really neo-prog though as it seems to veer more towards a heavy sound, but still doesn't settle in that sub-genre either, hence, Crossover prog is a good place for the band, but it might be surprising to some that there is still a high level of complexity here. 'Sea I Provide' is a more heavy rock centered track, less complex, but also short, perfect for a single. The guitar hook is great, but the vocals still hold a bit of complexity, but it flows along easily and follows a more traditional lyrical structure.

Jim joins Leslie on vocals on 'Bread & Yarn' which begins pensively with a nice melody and a hesitant keyboard accompaniment. Halfway through the 2nd go round with the verse, the drums suddenly kick in and the music begins to intensify and get more complex. There is then a nice progressive section, and both vocalists still sing together, then the music calms again around 5 minutes, then becomes a bit unsettling as rolling drums and experimental guitar sounds come in, then suddenly drive the music to a heavier section with a great guitar solo with a lot of power and interesting phrasing. It turns out to be a pretty good track, but it is a bit frustrating when it fades out. This kind of fading out is a pet peeve for me, why not just finish the track instead of leaving it hanging like that.

'Trigger' features Leslie's solo vocals again with the heavy sound again and the tricky rhythms and lyrics. I find it impressive the way she makes the vocals fit the complexity of the music, it definitely shows her high level of musicianship. The ending on this one is a bit chaotic. There is a short interlude with 'After Orbit Mission' where atmospheric electric guitars and dark synths play eerie lines. 'Shapeshifter' is definitely reflective of the Liquid Tension Experiment style, and dynamics become more important in this track as it goes from heavy to softer, jazz fusion leanings with the complex vocals following right along. Sudden shifts to heaviness attribute to the progressiveness of the music and the track alternates easily between the styles, shifting shapes just like alluded to in the title.

'Blueprint' is obviously a lighter textured track, but the music still remains surprisingly complex with some cool tempo shifts and mood changes. The changes are driven by the vocals, guitar and drums as everything flows smoothly from one shift to another. It's actually quite impressive and repeated listenings will convince you that this is pretty amazing and progressive music. 'Ghost Girl' ends the album with a 10+ minute track. It starts off with Leslie's vocals weaving around and about with a piano playing interesting flourishes along with her. At the end of the 2nd verse, a solid and heavy guitar ushers in the band. The lyrics are quite important on this track and attest to Leslie professionalism and talent. The organ that is added to it all will bring in a somewhat retro progressive feeling towards the middle of the track. This complex track continues in this style through the remainder of the song, again with shifting moods and styles to match the somewhat psychotic nature of the lyrics. Leslie plays the part quite well.

This album is more of a surprise to me than anything. I keep finding things about it that keep impressing me, and, quite honestly, I wasn't expecting anything like this not being that familiar with the band previous to hearing this album. It's complex, yet it's not over the top complexity. There is huge amount of progressiveness to the music, and Leslie is quite an impressive vocalist and musician, and so are the other band members. It takes a high degree of musicianship to play this kind of music as well as they do. This is one that I can see will continue to grow and impress over time. It's not what I would call essential, but it is quite excellent and the performances from everyone involved are quite impressive.

In the early years of the current decade I was introduced to District 97's music, a band of young and great US musicians that make great progressive rock in the symphonic vein, since then, I've been following their releases and wishing to see them on stage sometime, fortunately to me, I will be able to see them live really soon when I fly to Chicago for the Progtober Fest in its 3rd edition.

It was also in Chicago where the band recorded this live album, in which the amazing John Wetton was invited to play. As the title suggests (One More Red Night), the concert was a kind of tribute to King Crimson, playing songs in which Wetton participated and we all remember well, just one out of the 9 songs is not from the Wetton-KC era.

Listening now to this live album creates two different nostalgias, one is the natural one of listening to him singing his memorable KC songs, and the other is simply listening to him, because he passed away this current 2017. It is also great to see such a legend sharing the stage with younger and talented musicians such as District 97, so together created a nice album and gave a cool live experience.

The versions here are of course a bit different, the band kept the spirit of the original tracks, but naturally, they put their own sound on them. Leslie Hunt helped with some vocals, we are used to listen to her as the main District 97 singer, but this time she nicely gave way to John's voice, which by the way had not the potential of his early years, which is something we can understand.

My favorite songs here are: "Lament", "The Night Watch", "Book of Saturday" and "Easy Money". I wanted to write this review because I am excited to see the band live, playing of course their original music, but they are also playing a special tribute to John Wetton, so I guess some of the songs featured here will be played.

Si in the end this is a good live album that will make you jump to the past with a smile on your face. Enjoy it!

As usual for their albums, repeat listens is an absolute must. On the first couple of spins, the album, like their previous ones, sounds like a bit of a mess of styles and ideas, and it's either a little too straightforward or darting off in too many directions! But repeated plays show the different styles and tunes flowing well together, where the transitions between passages are expertly delivered with cleverness and subtlety. Despite always remaining melodic, there's nothing on this album that is overtly aimed at commercial radio station play (even when, if the current musical climate were different, it would probably be a great idea for the band to deliver many pieces with that audience in mind), and considering Hunt's background (the fact she was an ex-finalist on an early season of `American Idol' is still hugely fascinating for us prog-snobs!), it's really admirable that she has stuck with and remains firmly committed to this proggy/hard rock band, surely the more satisfying direction for her! Another plus are the intelligent and unobvious lyrics written by all the members, challenging and interesting without ever becoming completely self-indulgent or difficult.

First track `Snow Country' grinds back and forth between Opeth-like acoustic guitar laments and harder distorted mud-thick electric riffing, and a versatile vocal from Leslie moves from angelic reflection to unhinged danger! The mix of electric piano amongst the heavy guitars that will also pop up constantly throughout the disc even reminds of French band Nemo, and the piece pulls together into a catchy chorus here and there too. The brilliantly titled `Death by a Thousand Cuts' bristles with snarling danger, full of wild drum fills, Hammond organ blasts, mangled soloing guitar noise and relentless purring bass that strive for a Dream Theater-like technical workout! The next two pieces slow things down and step aside from the heaviness, and `Handlebars' floats with a classy and brilliantly controlled vocal from Leslie, with smooth multi-tracked harmonies and backing voices from the group, plus there's a cool bubbling Hammond organ solo in the middle. `A Lottery' is one of the most mature tracks from the group yet, slow-burn electric guitar simmers, cascading electric piano tiptoes and even loopy Moog spins.

`All's Well That Ends Well' broods with power, and moments of wistful piano and a dreamy vocal lurch to life with King Crimson/`Red'-era skittering drumming, programmed electronic trickles and heroic Moog and Hammond fanfares. Sweaty groover `Takeover' smoulders with a spunky vocal and dirty bluesy guitars, and while `On Paper' holds male/female vocal country rock/bluesy verses, it leads to a ballsy chorus, a thrashing heavy run in the middle and even a stream-of-consciousness Gentle GIant-flavoured quirky break for good measure! The album then concludes on the two longest and most adventurous pieces, first up `Learn From Danny' mixes heavy grunting guitars, mysterious piano, slinking jazz sophistication with a victorious guitar finale, and the I.Q-like Moog and synth runs and Neo-Prog flavours are a welcome surprise that the band pull off beautifully. Stringed instruments weave through the eleven and a half minute closer `Blinding Vision', a melancholic epic of theatrical drama and powerful build. Male/female vocals in perfect unison, doomed piano, plodding drums and despondent guitars raise the tension, and careful cymbal crashes and electric piano ambience calls to mind early King Crimson moments. This overpowering, sombre finale is a very sobering way to close the disc, but is a brave and defiant choice by the band.

With this album now done and dusted, 2016 is going to be an interesting time for the group. Keyboard player Robert Clearfield and bassist Patrick Mulcahy have since departed, but their replacements are already locked in place, so hopefully there's plenty of life and inspiration left in the group to come. But for now, this serves as a nice wrap-up of the current version, and considering it was realised by the crowd-funding efforts of their loyal fanbase, District 97 delivered the very best of their abilities on this superb work. `In Vaults' is a confident and exciting musical statement of intent from a talented young group more devoted than ever before to proper progressive rock, and is their most diverse, mature and strongest collection to date.

Four stars - and bonus points for beautiful Leslie looking the spitting-image of 60's Grace Slick in the CD booklet!

The skillful musicians of District 97 do their job extremely well and very faithfully to the originals. Only in 'Starless' I miss the mighty Mellotron sound (there's a little hollow synth backing instead), and that song is somewhat watered down here also due to the abridged song version. Wetton is in good shape though.

I'm satisfied with 'The Night Watch' and 'Book of Saturday', two of my Wetton era Crimso favourites besides 'Starless'. And with 9 songs I suppose the song output of the era is being covered almost completely -- there aren't any instrumentals. But frankly, to me this kind of a CD is hardly nothing else than a curiosity, quite useless in practice. OK, now I know this band is an excellent cover act of King Crimson material. Apparently too blinded by the respect for both Wetton and the music, to bring their own material /personality /individuality as a group to the set. If it was a DVD it would be another case, much more justified as a release.