BRAVE

Pressed by the questions about the very accessible "Holidays in Eden", Marillion were facing dark clouds on the horizon of their post-Fish era. And it took three long years to finally find the formula that put them back in an expectant position in the progressive scene: "Brave", their seventh album. A profound reflection on the failed suicide attempt of a teenager troubled by her meaningless life, a real event that Hogarth masterfully recreates from fiction, supported by the substantial instrumental contribution of the band.

Laden with melancholy and shadows from Mark Kelly's opening dramatic synth chords mixed with the fluttering of water in "Bridge", the album painfully transitions through the hopelessness of "Living with the Big Lie", the instrumental intensity of "Run Away" guided by Steve Rothery's guitar arpeggios and solos and Kelly's keyboards, and the transporting hypnotic whispers and psychedelic musicality of "iii. The Opium" and "iv. The Slide", sections of the extended "Goodbye to All That".

And after some more hard-rocking passages like "Hard as Love" and the sensationalist "Paper Lies", the introspective mode of "Brave", the album's title piece, showcases Hogarth's heartfelt vocal performance before giving way to the orchestrated "The Great Escape", summing up the feel of the whole work with the singer again at the helm until the final, watery sounds that give a circular effect reminiscent of the beginnings of "Bridge".

But as nothing is over until it's over, Marillion don't let the gloom take over the story completely, and it's when finally the acoustic and rhythmic "Made Again" emerges peacefully to convey the message that, despite everything, there is always hope. A beautiful closing track.

The conceptual "Brave", one of the best works of the Hogarth era, gave a new impetus to Marillion's career going forward.

Very good.

4 stars