NUMBER SEVEN

I've been struggling to make up my mind about this album. Probably the most expected album of 2009 for Yours Truly, so you can guess that the expectations were quite high... I must confess that I was disappointed at first listen... Now, was that because I was expecting, perhaps, a clone of Doomsday Afternoon, or because this album was, after all, a disappointment? The key with Prog is that you need to approach it with an empty mind and commit yourself to repeated listens... Like a Meditation discipline, that is... Thus, I have listened to this album for about 5 or 6 times so far, and I found myself progressively surprised, satisfied and... awed. Phideaux has provided us with an album of great complexity, there are nuances and details that enrich the experience with each successive listen. While the 4 or 5 themes that made the foundation for Doomsday Afternoon were easy to pick and identify, the themes on Number 7 are more difficult to pinpoint, but there they are, and when you find them, it's oh so satisfying. One minor quibble though: I still find some frustration at the sudden stops at various points on the record, most prominently on The Search for Terrestrial Life: the rhythm section builds up to a nice crescendo and all of a sudden the music stops so the vocalist can deliver an almost spoken statement? It's like coitus interruptus: release, don't restrain!! One star less for that. However, I must award an extra star for the amazing marketing job that Phideaux has made into promoting this album on this site, and for the acknowledgements to all these obscure and almost underground sites? I felt an almost childish pride on reading the thanks to Progarchives.com