DESTINED SOLITAIRE

Beardfish are one of the more unique progressive rock acts to appear in the last decade. I thoroughly enjoyed "Sleeping In Traffic" 1 & 2, and was very much looking forward to finally getting a copy of their newest effort, "Destined Solitaire." I wanted to get at least 4 spins down before I sat down to write this review. We all know that sometimes great music isn't obvious after one listen. With that said, one must also know when to say when. And, in the case of "Destined Solitaire", I'm not just saying "when", I'm shouting it! Very simply, the things that I loved about S.I.T 1 & 2 are missing from this album. Sure, the group hits a high mark in terms of technical ability. In some instances, the music on this disk is more complex that the last two albums. However, complex doesn't mean better, and that fact couldn't be more apparent than on this disc. Many of the songs seem to drag on without any rhyme or reason, and the playfulness of their previous outings has been replaced by what I can only describe as an angry vibe. It's apparent in the music, but especially in the vocals; normally one of my favorite aspects of Beardfish, now sounding forced and overly urgent. Additionally, the "Death Metal" vocal within the title track might be one of the single worst examples if its use. I personally like extreme metal, but it's not this band's core competency.

Overall, this is not a great album. I won't go into a song-by-song lecture. With that said, it's worth noting that the first half of the album is superior to the second half; and, if "Until You Comply" is a worthy track that could have sat well on the last album. I was really looking forward to this album, and now I must admit that it's my first real musical disappointment this year. I hope that they write a better batch of songs for the next record.