THE FORM OF THE GOOD

If you're interested in finding a highly musical prog-rock experience, it would be very challenging to do much better than Form of the Good, the second album by Deluge Grander. Dan Britton and company deliver us a symphonic prog album that practically overflows with musical ideas. This isn't symphonic prog in the vein of Flower Kings or Yes or some of the other key bands within this sub-genre; Deluge Grander is instrumental, highly composed, and intense music that will appeal to fans of Music (with a capital "M"). Casual listeners will probably be bored, but those of us that can appreciate the technical proficiency of the band's playing and the subtlety of the songwriting are in for a treat.

If you're familiar with Britton's various projects, Form of the Good should be a mandatory purchase. It isn't as intense as his Birds and Buildings band, or even the preceding Deluge Grander release. Form is richly textured and nuanced and unapologetic for its musical excesses. I'm very impressed by the maturity of composition; it feels like some lost symphonic work from an earlier time, transposed for a rock band. I wouldn't say that Britton is showing restraint, given the amount of sounds we hear, but it does feel that the negative space is used more effectively than before. The range of pitches and in the timbre between and within songs is huge, from the fat, bottom-heavy fuzz of the bass to the twittering woodwinds that come and go throughout. There is an amazing amount of variety here, so much in fact it may be too much, a common but fair bit of criticism for an album that commands your attention and respect, but doesn't necessarily want to remind you why you should return. For example, there aren't any soaring solo moments or memorable hooks to grab hold of ... just tons and tons and tons of music; it lets you do with it what you will.

Overall I highly recommend this album to prog-heads wanting something technical, instrumental, but with a personality that differs from the "normal" prog sound. Check out Form of the Good, and any of Brittons' other projects, for that matter!

Songwriting: 5 - Instrumental Performances: 4 - Lyrics/Vocals: NA - Style/Emotion/Replay: 3