NOMZAMO

In one of my earlier IQ reviews I said I'm not an IQ fan (even though I'm a neo fan) and I was talking especially about IQ of the eighties. Because all albums since Ever (1993) appeared not that bad after all. I've even become a bit of a fan of IQ of the nineties. The only eigthies album I reviewed so far was The Wake and I've always considered that a bit of a slow, even dull album and gave it two stars in the end. I was a bit of an outcast with that rating because it's considered one of IQ's best albums ever by many. Anyway, time for the successor of The Wake now, Nomzamo. An album I just recently discovered. I will review it song by song and to be honest I'm curious how it will turn out.

1. No Love Lost sounds like an average IQ track to me, Paul Menel plays a leading part in this song and performs varied singing. Besides this feature there's little spectacle in this song. 2,75*.

2. Promises (as the years go by) is a bit more recognizable/accessible but I can't call this an impressive track either. Paul Menel sounds a bit affected. Not a fan of this one. 2,5*.

3. The title track is characterized by interesting rhythm with nice percussion at the start. Later the instrumental part features a shining Martin Orford though nothing exceptional again. Nice song. 3*.

4. Still Life is a ballad with laid back vocals by Menel doing a good job here. Nice sax as well by Ray Carless. Quite a beautiful song, I like it. 3,5*.

5. Passing strangers sounds just about as cheerful as Promises with same kind of vocals by Menel. The song is slightly better or rather: less annoying with a bit of nice guitar. 2,75*.

6. Human Nature though has the same impact on me as Promises. The song has more substance though which is not strange since it's more than twice as long. It's obvious we're in the eighties when this album was released. Pop music was quite poor in those days and so was prog, relatively spoken. After six songs I have to conclude this IQ comes nowhere near IQ of the nineties. But I expected that. 3*.

7. Screaming is another accessible energetic song but again I'm not impressed. 2,75*.

8. Common Ground proves the band saved best for last. Second ballad and second song above average. But also this one is not exceptional, more good/very good. Last few minutes are the best of the album with finally some impressive Holmes play. 3,5*.

(9). Colourflow is actually a bonustrack so I will not count it the same way. Good song with good vocals by Jules. 3*.

Like the songratings obviously show there's just one rating possible for this album: 3 stars. This album proves less proggy than the predecessor but more energetic and cheerful. Nothing special I'm afraid.