FREQUENCY

IQ is still a band I love, and I realize there's been some significant changes to the line up recently, but this does seem like a "connect the dots" type of release. They've found a slightly dark, mid-tempo, slightly grandiose path to follow, and this seems to be the direction over the last ten years or so. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, simply that there's a "saminess" that smacks a bit too much of complacency and the desire to get "product" out to market.

What I loved most about their earliest releases was the ability to craft songs that while intricate, still had a lot of rhythmic drive and "propulsion", for lack of a better term. This album, and "The Incident" by Porcupine Tree is guilty as well, plods a bit too much on safe ground. Been there, heard it before.