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THE RUPERT SELECTION

Crossover Prog • United States


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The Rupert Selection biography
Founded in Manchester-by-the-Sea, USA in 2009

US band THE RUPERT SELECTION was formed in 2009 by Reilly Somach, Peter Crofton and Zak Brown, and since they kicked off they've been an active live unit, hitting the stage as soon as chance or opportunity knocks.

2011 saw the band expand their presence to that of the recorded media, when they issued their debut production Conspiritorium. Initially as a digital album only, but in time they hope to release it also in a more tangible manner.

Following this, the addition of keyboardist Derek Tanch has seen the band expand their sonic palette and repertoire extensively. In particular when they want to pick cover songs for their live set.

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THE RUPERT SELECTION discography


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THE RUPERT SELECTION top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.89 | 18 ratings
Conspiritorium
2011
3.72 | 6 ratings
Priors
2019

THE RUPERT SELECTION Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings
Live At The Bridge
2019

THE RUPERT SELECTION Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

THE RUPERT SELECTION Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

THE RUPERT SELECTION Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

0.00 | 0 ratings
Baseball Practice
2017
0.00 | 0 ratings
Modern Playground Medicine
2017
3.00 | 1 ratings
Then Again
2023
3.00 | 1 ratings
Astronauts
2023

THE RUPERT SELECTION Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Priors by RUPERT SELECTION, THE album cover Studio Album, 2019
3.72 | 6 ratings

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Priors
The Rupert Selection Crossover Prog

Review by TCat
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

4 stars The Rupert Selection is a crossover prog band founded in Manchester-by-the-Sea in the year 2009. Since this time, there have been 2 full length albums released, the 2nd album in June of 2019 and titled "Priors". The core band is made up of Reilly Somach on vocals and guitar, Peter Crofton on vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, synths and percussion, and Zak Brown on drums. There are several other musicians involved on an as needed basis throughout the album. "Priors" has 9 total tracks with a run time of just under 50 minutes.

"Is This a Trick?" begins it all with a solid heavy sound with the entire band playing from the start. Soon, the rhythm gets a bit tricky and the guitar heavy sound continues when the vocals come in. The lyrical structure is pretty traditional, but the melody and rhythm has hints of a more complex style to it. The guitar riffs and passages keep things on the heavy side and it keeps your attention. "Above the Sky" lightens things up a bit more with strummed guitar, airy vocals and a moderate tempo. When the chorus comes in, things get more intense both vocally and instrumentally, and complex with an ascending guitar riff that drives it forward, but things lighten up again on the verses and a tinkling piano is added to the strummed guitars. After the 2nd lyrical cycle, the rhythm stops and a lone guitar plays mysteriously along and soon a slow tapping percussion starts bringing in a start/stop pattern that later gets much heavier.

"Funeral Party" stays with the layered heavy sound and faster rhythm. Vocals come in early and have a more standard feel to the melody, and the style is reminiscent of "IQ" or "Oceansize". A piano easily penetrates the solid guitar wall of sound proving the mixing is done very well. "Apollo" goes back to the moderate beat and strummed guitars but this time with a sustained guitar layer on top. The track also returns to a slightly more complex sound, but remains mostly in heavy, yet accessible style. The music quiets down on the instrumental break with just a jangly guitar playing along with vocals that have become airy again and taking on a different melody before returning to the original chorus. "Take Me to the Catacombs" begins with an atmospheric drone that builds in intensity and with subdued percussion and vocals. The slow percussion gets louder as it goes on and the drone continues to swirl around.

"You Are a Doctor" returns to the heavy prog sound again with a heavy guitar riff and solid beat. A start/stop rhythm and a boiling guitar pattern generate a lot of tension which eventually moves to a complex drum and guitar pattern. The melody of the vocal line is more complex on this track also, but it matches the solid instrumental pattern. The instrumental break is really cool and progressive. "Whale Song" is immediately softer with a lone guitar. Subdued and airy vocals come in underneath the guitar with a very light percussion. Things remain atmospheric and layered even when the music gets louder and it continues to trade off from a minimal to a full sound. This track has some post rock tendencies, as the intense parts are quite thickly layered, but later pushes forward with a heavy riff and then ending softly again.

The next track is simply entitled "Part II". It begins with soft guitar arpeggios but quickly explodes into the heavy sound again and then alternates between soft and heavy. Vocals come back to the foreground in both the soft and heavy sections. The melody is more of a standard format this time around, but the alternating dynamic help keep it all interesting. Again, there is that solid tie in to the sound of IQ and Oceansize. Those that love those bands will love the heav, yet dynamic sound of this band. There is a nice dramatic, progressive riff in the instrumental break. "Pocket Thoughts" is the last track. Beginning with a moderately slow drum beat, the bass comes in, and then atmospheric guitars and synths which are later joined by airy vocals, but the overall feel is somewhat dark and ominous. Fuzzy guitar layers come in later pushing the sound to a post rock style again with an almost shoegaze atmosphere.

This is quite an excellent album, and for lovers of Oceansize (like me) and IQ will love this mostly heavy sound with a lot of dynamic variety. The few forays into a fuzzy post rock sound on "Take Me to the Catacombs" and "Pocket Thoughts" provide some nice variety, as if the dynamic changes in most of the other tracks weren't enough. Yet the album still sounds consistently great all the way through. Though it isn't quite as solid as some of the best Oceansize albums, it is still pretty close, and the band is one that I will be interested in hearing more about in future albums if they continue to develop this style. Definitely and excellent album that deserves a lot of attention from those that love their prog on the heavy, yet dynamic side. 4 glowing stars.

 Conspiritorium by RUPERT SELECTION, THE album cover Studio Album, 2011
2.89 | 18 ratings

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Conspiritorium
The Rupert Selection Crossover Prog

Review by memowakeman
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

2 stars "Conspiritorium" is the debut album of The Rupert Selection, a new US band which is looking to gain a place in the difficult musical realm, and of course, within the even more selected progressive rock realm. This album was released in 2011 and consists of six compositions that make a total time of 48 minutes.

The first track is "Spirals". The first seconds have a kind of spacey mood, with some distant noises, but some seconds later they disappear and the other instruments appear. The music has some neo prog elements, and some other rock ones, but in general I fully agree in the crossover label, here we can understand why. Since this first track I must admit I was not attracted by the vocals, though their importance in the development of the song may be high, I cannot say I am fan of them. There are several changes in this track, sometimes the music is just soft, with some spacey effects, in other moments it is rockier and more explosive. What I don't like, is that in moments I feel it loses track, I mean, it makes some fractured moments where my interest decreased.

"Rocco's Ride" has some kind of funky guitars, complemented by spacey synth effects and with again a distant voice; in moments the keyboards produce a kind of symphonic tune, but in general the music is very accessible, easy to listen and to dig. It makes some changes later, giving the music dynamism. The last part is the best, with a cool guitar solo that makes a blend of rock and psych/spacey music. "Mr. Chips" is a short track in the vein of heavy prog. Cool guitars and a nice work on drums, bass and keyboards. After a minute the vocals enter and put their grain of sand.

"A Nickel for Every?" is one of the longest song, reaching almost the ten minutes. It has an explosive start with heavy guitars, later it makes a change but the fast sound continues but now with that blend of rock/psych/crossover. In this track we can appreciate several inner changes, passages with different nuances but that are connected to each other, however, I have to say that as much as I tried with several listens, I did not feel that great enthusiasm with the music here, I was never involved, unfortunately. Though I am sure some people may have a contrary opinion, the memorable moments of this song (and the album as a whole) are only a few. I am sorry if I am being harsh, but you know, this is subjectivity after all. Worth clarifying that the band's members are talented and their music is not bad at all, but I believe they have to work harder.

"Pennies in the Desert" is an electronic oriented track with a tense atmosphere and spacey effects. Though in one hand a track like this shows that the band is capable of implementing different styles in a single album, in the other, one may think they actually are lost in the limbo and don't have a clear particular sound, I mean, they are still looking for an identity. Who knows, but I honestly think the latter. The album finishes with "Jabberwock Jazz", which is the longest track with almost twelve minutes. It starts softly with piano, then a radio tuning appears and gives the impression a person is driving a car. Later a sweet guitar is implemented and a delicate sound continues for two minutes, until it makes a drastic change and turns into a heavy, almost metal-like track. As one can imagine, that heavy passage is just brief, because later the band delight us with some changes, letting us know they challenge themselves to create a complex composition. In the end, I believe this is the finest track of the album.

Well, honestly, as I mentioned above, I am not that happy with this album, and I swear I tried and tried, but the result was always the same. For me, the music here does not add anything new to the prog rock realm, but I trust they will do better in the future. For now, my grade will be two stars. However?

Enjoy it!

Thanks to windhawk for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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