FREQUENCY

I'll tell you what I think has been great about the last year. Many bands that have been around 'for ages' have recently put out some of the best work of their careers...... and this album is definitely one of those.

Now you'll see my rating and might think to yourself 'here's another IQ nut posting 5 stars all over the place', but that's really not true. I always think long and hard over a rating - especially such a high one - and this one quite simply just deserves it.

The album starts as it means to go on. 'Frequency' is a brilliant piece of work with all the usual twists and turns that we all love in prog. I will say though that even this track took me few listens before it clicked and lodged itself firmly in my conscious mind (you know how it goes!). I saw the band play this just before Christmas at the Islington gig, and it was truely one of my highlights of the night.

Track 2, 'Life Support', is another beauty. Less of a meandering journey than the title track, but it's strength is it's serenity. Peter Nicols vocals are crystal clear and confident floating over the melodic keys of Mark Westworth. A few minutes in, and we're treated to some searing 'Hackettesque' guitar work from Mike Holmes. Fantastic stuff.

You'll be playing the riff from 'One Fatal Mistake' in your head for ages after hearing that one too!

In fact there isn't one track on the album that is below par and it's a consistently great album altogether.

The album 'Frequency' works well for those attempting to know the best of modern day prog. You could recommend this to anyone as a shining example of the sort of enjoyable music that's getting made today (even if it's not getting widely played today).

No hesitation in awarding 5 stars, and no hesitation in recommending that you all at least give it a listen. I'm sure many of you have missed out where you really wouldn't want to.