ESCAPING FROM THE HANDS OF GOD

This is the follow-up to 1999's 'Les Regrets d'Isidore D' that was released on Mellow records when the band were called Sens. I haven't heard that album, but if it is of the same quality as this one then I do need to search it out. This is a combination of instrumentals and songs, with five of them at over eleven minutes in length. It is a truly progressive album, one that those who feel that the neo-prog movement is too constrained will fall in love with immediately. I can see why label boss Malcolm Parker is hailing this as the album of the year, and while I will not go that far (we long ago agreed that our personal tastes differ) I will say that it is an album that does need to be heard by progheads. It did take a few listens to get into, as is sometimes the case with prog, but that isn't altogether a bad thing. The band are French and they have little in common with much of the UK or American prog bands, although it could be argued that they have taken some influences from the Canterbury scene. Their influences for the most part are much more in line with classical music and jazz, while bringing it altogether in a style that often takes a while to make sense of. The first time I heard the album I wasn't convinced at all, as it was going straight over me with just the few neo-prog passages actually connecting, but the more I played it the more I could understand what was going on. It is not prog that is immediate but those who persevere with this will be rewarded with one of the more truly progressive albums around.

Originally appeared in Feedback #69, Aug 02