THE UNDERFALL YARD

Admittedly I pondered this album after their most recent release, English Electric, so my listening ears are somewhat spoiled by the beauty of that album. I will say though that this is amazing in its own right. These guys definitely know what they're doing; the instrumentation is top notch and the musicianship is equally so. But perhaps what impresses me most about this album is just the vast number of instruments used. Along with the classic setup the band also includes, mellotron, flute, and a whole brass section which gives this album a very distinctive feel.

The album opens with the instrumental 'Evening Star' which has a gradual build-up that gets increasingly more chaotic. But the last two minutes contains an absolutely beautiful melody played by the brass instruments.

'Master James of St. George' contains some strong and dramatic vocals from Longdon, along with some pristine guitar work from Spawton.

'Victorian Brickwork' is my favorite track of the album. It has a slower intro before an amusing melody enters backed with D'Virgilio's crazy drumming. The song introduces new bits throughout while still repeating melodies appropriately. The ending is another example of the beautiful brass section that makes this album so fun and unique.

'Last Train' and 'Winchester Driver' are both similar to 'Victorian Brickwork.' There is a combination of slower, softer moments with acoustic guitar and flute mixed with some upbeat and heavy moments with pounding drums and guitar.

The album ends with the lengthy title track, 'Underfall Yard.' The song introduces some great melodies, but also reprises some previous ones appropriately. It's very structurally diverse with some nice time signature and tempo changes throughout.

While this isn't a masterpiece by any thought, I believe this has plenty of merit to represent the current progressive era favorably.

7/10