THE CIRCLE & THE BLUE DOOR

Purson, like the Norwegian band Tusmørke, is one of these new retro bands that lean more towards folk and psychedelic, but this stuff would never appeal to diehard symph progheads (you'll never mistake them for Yes or Genesis) and plenty of Mellotron. Think proto-prog, except these are brand new recordings. Purson is more or less a psychedelic folk band lead by Rosalie Cunninham who used to be in a all-teen girl goth group Ipso Facto. It's obvious that Rosalie wanted to explore music that has roots deeper than Siouxie & the Banshees. So here's Purson exploring that brand of psychedelia that's on the cusp of prog, hence proto-prog, except The Circle and the Blue Door is from 2013. The music has a Gothic feel, but not of the Goth music variety, but of that late '60s/early '70s feel. I can compare this to the likes of Black Widow and Coven, but Purson doesn't explore Satanism like those groups did. Perhaps a bit of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Plus plenty of Mellotron, which was borrowed from Andy Thompson, who runs the Planet Mellotron website. His tron was used in Diagonal, another British retro-prog/psych act that also recorded for Rise Above Records like Purson (although Diagonal's music is more progressive). I can also compare Purson to Tusmørke, except the Norwegian band had no female vocalist and a stronger Tull bent, as Purson never included a flute player. Tusmørke also had a strong Nordic vibe in their music which Purson, being British, obviously doesn't. It's amazing that the members of Purson are barely in their 20s given the style of music they successfully recreated is a generation older than themselves. When they were born, New Kids on the Block, Paula Abdul and Milli Vanilli were the big rage with mainstream audiences. Rosalie Cunningham was born in 1990, and she was able to learn about all those old psych and prog acts from her parents music collection as well as the Internet. It's obvious that Purson is Rosalie's vehicle, as it's very much dominated by her voice, who reminds me a bit of Grace Slick, Annie Lennox, and even Jenny Haan of Babe Ruth. Diehard symphonic progheads probably would not need this, but those who enjoy proto-prog (or fancy the idea of a new group trying such), or perhaps prog folk or psychedelic folk will find enjoyable. Since I'm not a diehard symph proghead, I find it rather enjoyable.