THE ABSENCE OF PRESENCE

EDIT 10/23/20: I'm moving my rating from 4 stars to 3 stars, after the initial wave of excitement when this album came out it unfortunately doesn't do too much for me and I find the Prelude Implicit to be a much better effort. While I still think this a good album, it suffers from a very loud and compressed mix and a very poor sounding snare. I also feel like the title track, especially the middle jam is very underdeveloped despite some great moments. With all that said, I'm glad Kansas is continuing the make inspired music, leaving original review up.

This is the second album released by this new incarnation of Kansas and I really admire that they aren't trying to just emulate their 70s heyday albums and cater to nostalgia. This to me sounds like a band genuinely progressing and creating their own original musical path and sound. The addition of Tom Brislin on the keys is a potential game changer for the band in this later stage of their career, his parts and variety of keys used throughout the album are awesome and really well developed. Even when the keys aren't at the forefront, there's always some subtle playing going on in the background to pick up on with repeated listens. Tom Brislin playing is a lot more front and center than Dave Manion whose playing was a bit more subtle on the previous album "The Prelude Implicit" (which is an album I dearly treasure as well). As far as the sound of the album goes, I think the production is generally good, you can clearly hear every instrument and every member is dialed in, but I think the album is a little too loud and I think the double tracking and vocal effects are used a bit too liberally. Ronnie Platt has an excellent voice already and he doesn't need his voice edited like it sometimes is on this album, my favorite parts from him are when he's just singing without any kinds of harmonies or effects on top of it. However, many of the modern production flares used are very welcome and they're helping Kansas move and progress into this sort of reinvention of themselves. Ragsdales violin playing on this album is seriously incredible, easily his greatest studio performance with the band and I really think him and Brislin are the stars on this album. While I say that, nobody ever sounds like they're just phoning it in, all the instrumental parts sound essential, they're well developed and generally nonlinear. You can just pick any instrument to focus on and chances are the parts are pretty interesting on their own.

Anyways, the album opens with the excellent title track which is just majestic as we're guided through this soaring introduction with great melodic interplay between the synths and violin. The kick in at the 2:00 mark just lifted me off my feet the first time I heard it. We're treated to a nice jam in the middle which for my money, could've been extended or developed more by a couple minutes, but no complaints here. The song ties everything back together with a beautiful flowing ending. Awesome title track clocking in at around 8 minutes, i'll be listening to this track for years to come. The same can be said for the second track "Throwing Mountains" which showcases some extremely strong songwriting and I think it has Platts best vocal performance. It's gotta be one of Kansas's heaviest songs with what I wanna say are subtle hints of Dream Theater and prog metal. It really gets me pumped and fired up with its heavy riffing, nasty violin soloing and generally motivational and driving lyrics and sound. Jets Overhead is a bit more straightforward but still has some excellent violin work and melodies. I almost get Beatlesesque vibes when the verse kicks in. I think this song could have developed and deviated from its path a little more though, especially in the drumming which I think is a little too steady throughout. I really love the main violin melody, especially when it interplays with the synth and I really wish they built something off of that. Good song though. Next is the short instrumental "Propulsion 1." This instrumental is great, probably Phil Eharts best performance, the dude even uses a double kick! Brislin, Ragsdale and Ehart are just firing on all cylinders trading off parts creating one firey and proggy instrumental. From 1:00 forward I was just grinning ear to ear, I wish it didn't end so soon cause I feel like it there was still plenty of room to build off this. "Memories down the Line" is a pleasant ballad with some nice melodic instrumentation in the later half. "Circus of Illusion is a pretty neat track with the violin bringing uTin followed by some really cool guitar effects. I'll once again use the word "Majestic" to describe this track, I really like where the song goes in the second half especially. "Animals on the Roof" is another more driving and twisting song with some excellent organ and key work. This is one of the most progressive songs and easily a highlight of the album with some great lyrics and instrumentation. I love the headbanging jam it kicks into around 2:30 mark. The next song "Never" is the one track i'm not super in to. It's a somber sounding ballad and I just don't think this style has ever been Kansas's strong suit, not every song can be Dust in the Wind. Not offensively bad, it just doesn't do anything for me. However, the closing track "The Song the River Sings" is awesome and another highlight for me. It opens with this mysterious intro and it leads us into the main riff which I really dig. Tom Brislin actually sings lead vocals here and he really does a very fine job. I actually think the rhythm section on this song is very notable, Billy Greer has a really nice bass solo in the middle and in the drum parts are really well developed. However, the song sort of fizzles out with that same mysterious vibe it opened with and it strips down to just some quiet piano. The last two minutes of this song are just nasty, the piano starts building up with this filthy riff and every other instrument successively joins in with a bunch of effects layered on top of it ultimately creating this awesome and heavy playout. I've never heard Kansas do anything like this, it ends up just cutting out "I Want You Shes so Heavy" style and its a shame, cause I wish that kept going on for a couple more minutes.

Conclusion: I'm really enjoying this album and I really hope we get at least one more Kansas album from this lineup. It seems that the band wants that too, and besides, they're atleast gonna have to make a Propulsion 2! Right?!? The band is clearly getting better and realizing their new identity and I really think with Brislin on board if they can just completely dial it in, continue expanding and trying new things, and continue writing adventurous songs like the title track, they're capable of making a classic and a 5 star album. Until then, this awesome release will hold me over, i'm enjoying it more and more with each listen and i'm just happy that Kansas is making new and very inspired music at this stage of their career. Also, this cover art is such eye candy.

4 Stars