A SHOUT INTO THE VOID

A band that I know/knew only from their 2023 album, Hymns for Hungry Spirits, Vol. II--which I reviewed and which left me with a favorable aftertaste.

1. "Utopia" (5:38) a song that seems to be trying to mixing three or four disparate styles of music: prog metal, Cure-like Goth synths, some ECHOLYN-like NeoProg and BUBBLEMATH-like vocal. The dudes are trying to convey that they're pissed off but it falls short due to the poor sound engineering/mixing of the tracks (and styles) as well as the less-than-convincing emotions trying to be forced into the singing of the "angry" lyrics. (8.6667/10)

2. "Rules of Engagement" (5:39) sounds like a cover of late 1970s SAGA's great classic rock hit, "On the Loose." Okay song version that just feels dated and uninspired in so many ways. (8.5/10)

3. "Chain of Command" (4:13) a song that exhibits some 21st Century creativity! Definitely a step up from the two previous songs, though the chorus is quite lame: sounding like something from a filler song on a Queen or Loverboy album. (8.7/10)

4. "Brain of Fire" (5:38) a mutli-part opening whose three distinct parts are all quite interesting and intriging leads into a satisfying if dated sounding vocal motif. (It sounds likes a cross between MEATLOAF and a second-tier British New Wave band that I'm having trouble pinpointing [probably due to my general and quite intentional avoidance and predominant disdain for that style and era of music). Still, this is a nice song even if it does sound like I'm discovering a song from 1980 that I'd never heard before. (8.875/10)

5. "One Thousand Eyes" (7:13) Nice keyboard work from Dylan Porper over and within the fairly well-developed and well-performed rock motif that fills the majority of the seven minute song. And it's all instrumental! The second half puts on display some very nice bass play--a lot of which is presented as a very long and extended solo. Drummer Jeff Matthews performs admirably beneath, sometimes able to break through to become the instrument that I want to pay attention to. (13.333/15)

6. "Parting of Ways" (6:36) back to ancient sounding constructs, soundscapes, and sonic palettes, here using a hard-driving two-beat and then some really hokey choir-delivered wordless vocals to finish the chorus. Every time I pause and then come back to this song my immediate sense is that I'm listening to something from the early 1980s. Solid performances of some rather straightforward and generic by-the-numbers song construction. (8.75/10)

7. "You're Not In" (4:39) long-held organ chord opens this, holding strong while Daniel Graham's late-1970s/early-1980s vocal enters. The song remains firmly anchored in 1980 despite three different motifs--just too many hooks and signature riffs coming straight out of music from bands like 707, Buggles, Asia, and even Olivia Newton-John(!). More nice synth work from Dylan in the instrumental section. (8.7/10)

8. "A Shout Into the Void" (6:06) a song that feels more defined/inspired by BON JOVI, REM, and even later SIMPLE MINDS. (8.7/10)

Total Time 45:45

I am able to conclude that this is a less-than-professional band of musicians who are not committed to performing, promoting, or polishing their compositions before rendering them onto master tapes. Perhaps they were once an expert 1980(s) cover/tribute band that have recently decided to try to express themselves through their own compositions . . . created through their firmly established filters of 1970s and 1980s music and performed on the instruments that help them cover the 1980s sound palettes. In an effort to, perhaps, get down to more of their authentic core, the band seems to have here left behind some of its more blatant 1980s referents but, unfortunately, they have, thereby, left me stranded in a vacuum of bare-bones representation of one particularly small window of musical history.

C+/3.5 stars; a not unenjoyable romp down memory lane as retro sounds, stylings, and constructs take one back to the year 1980. It is not, however, very proggy; more like Classic Rock and New Wave.

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