NOW WE HAVE LIGHT

This quartet still is hard to pigeonhole when trying to pin down a distinct music style respectively genre. Their predecessor 'Weight Of The World' from 2013 widely opened the door to the progressive new artrock field. 'Now We Have Light' yet comes as another progression - a concept outfit, comprised of material which has matured within the last ten years at least. Consequently the stylistical boundaries are more comprehensive then ever, obviously resulting from the member's shifting preferences and influences over the course of time.

Matt Baber (keybords), Joff Winks (guitar/vocals), Brad Waissman (bass) and drummer Andrew Booker are offering more than 80 thrilling minutes here, this separated on two discs featuring 15 tracks in total. Additionally a DVD is part of the box set released on Esoteric/Antenna, which supplies the obligatory making of and some outtakes. For me only Cat Factory had a reputation already at the very start, as this one has been part of several live sets before. A short instrumental which deserves a special praise from me while delivering a nice mellotron disposition and a terrific bass line.

There are some excerpts which definitely will have a place on my playlists for a long time - though preferably I recommend to examine the particular discs in one go. There's a really charming start given with the Desolation Song contribution. Chat Show is excellently pointing to their canterbury roots when they once were having eggs and baked beans for breakfast under the moniker ANTIQUE SEEKING NUNS. And then just take the time for attempting the impossible when Spanning The Eternal Blyss - it's worth it, not only because there are also intense crimsonesque and zappaesque moments to detect.

Where Shit! is coming from the electronic playground Out Of Mind provides a real masterpiece, Chat Show shows another jewel I can't get enough of. Bass and synthesizer are excellently complementing on Settle Down. Featuring Jim Hart on vibraphone regarding two songs, the album most heard in recent months. For me a wonderful experience again, a definitive cross section of all the stuff they have done before, and this without simply recompiling. Well, very probably it's inspiring to have some bubble trouble besides some double bubble trouble, you see? Thank you for that, fellas!