BRIGHT GREEN FIELD

1. "Resolution Square (0:40)

2. "G.S.K. (3:10) part RUN-D.M.C./BEASTIE BOYS, part AMBITIOUS LOVERS/PRIMUS, part DAVID BYRNE all serves to create a quirky post-punk NuProg in the vein of black midi, FUZZ PUDDLE/FLY PAN AM/ALTO PALO/LOW. I'm really not sure if lead singer/screamer Ollie Judge is angry, excited, or just insistent on getting his point across but this music is definitely interesting and invigorating. Great foundational groove. A top three song. (9/10)

3. "Narrator feat. Martha Skye Murphy" (8:28) sounds far more 1970s punk or CAN- or NEU-like Krautrock moving into stuff like early XTC, TALKING HEADS, and THE AMBITIOUS LOVERS. Even the weird psychedelia instrumental sounds (and voices) in the music mix beneath the lead vocalist are very punk-post punk (complete with a very riské NINA HAGEN-like vocal performance from a female vocalist guest, Martha Skye Murphy--who obviously took pointers from Irene Papas' performance on Aphrodite's Child's "Infinity"). (17.5/20)

4. "Boy Racers" (7:34) steady rhythm track and almost-Reggae-like guitar weave reminds me of CAN. Even the slightly crazed vocal has a Damo Suzuki feel to it. The music drops out to leave spacey Blade Runner-like post-industrial synth sounds to play around while heavily-treated vocal epithets are interjected here and there for the next five minutes. It's like a Bar-Do for race car video game crashouts. I like it conceptually but I think it's more cinematic than proggy. (13/15)

5. "Paddling" (6:17) like something out of a long-lost KRAFTWERK album that's been picked up and embellished by a modern street rapper. In the third minute there is an excursion into some freak-out psychedelia, but then we return to music, moving quickly into a Euro-post-punk motif similar to Nena, Peter Schilling or Falco (or early Talking Heads or Blondie). Once guitars enter and synths fill the soundscape, the final 90 seconds are actually pretty cool. (8.875/10)

6. "Documentary Filmmaker" (4:55) the opening music sounds as if PHILIP GLASS and STEVE HAUSCHILDT merge forces. At the two-minute mark the music shifts, moves into second, third, and fourth gears as ever-excitable Ollie Judge catastrophizes over the top. I actually really love this one! (9.5/10)

7. "2010" (4:28) like a two-voice poetry recitation performed over some Bruce Cockburn music--until 1:35 when all hell breaks loose. The spoken poetry parts remind me of iconic British poet Ann Clark from the 1980s. Once again, I am shocked that two bands (or more?) could appear in the same music scene at the same time like Squid and black midi. (8.75/10)

8. "The Flyover" (1:10) horns and quietly spoken (recorded) words (conversation snippets). (4.4/5)

9. "Peel St." (4:52) Talking Heads + The Ambitious Lovers = black midi (and Squid). Amazing that the two bands (Squid and black midi) appeared concurrently. (9.5/10)

10. "Global Groove" (5:07) with such sedate music I find myself reminded of LAGARTIJA of all bands (Particelle)! The vocal performance(s--screamed and tape-recorded/spoken), of course, have very little to do with the Italian band, but I'm fascinated by the multiple personalities this band is able to express. (8.875/10)

11. "Pamphlets" (8:03) more post-punk CAN-like Krautrock. It surprises me how well it works. (13.125/15)

Total Time 54:44

I'm not sure if I've been listening to manic delirium or genius. I suppose a little of both. ("A true twenty-first century sound," Bruce Cockburn inspires me me to say.) I do like this music, this album, I'm just not ready or willing to accept that this is the direction prog music might be going. The use of horns and myriad incidental-seeming sound injections is, I have to admit, pretty ingenious. Ollie Judge's vocal performances are also quite impressive: the man is certainly committed ? to his messages--to his performance.

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent and very refreshing venture through a totally new sounding blend of old prog and pop music styles; totally recommended for any and all true progressive rock music lovers. It's an experience you will not soon forget.

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