THE TONGUES OF MEN AND ANGELS

Skirting the edges of classic 70′s prog and neoprog, The Tongue of Angels and Men delivers a very thoughtful journey into a theatrical world of music. What initially caught my attention about this album was heavy blend of early Crimson and Genesis with loads of theatricality and a strong bardic approach. The presentation of music and lyrics really made me feel like an intended listener, as if the band were presenting itself to me directly. John blakes jester like vocals, while far from refined, are thoroughly narrative in their sound. He comes across as a very interesting vocalist, in my opinion; his tone is thin and his voice is feelbe, but in such a way to where its got a creepy vibe and carries with it the menacing sincerity of an old man telling you a haunting and ancient truth in a dark room. In terms of the instrumental performances, Lyrian's music is not the virtuoso type at all, but they offer a pretty enjoyable prog rock palette which includes pipe organs and synthesized woodwinds, always presented in ways that obviously and unashamedly avoid anything close to a modern rock sound. In the end, Lyrian delivers an album with a sound that seeks to take you back to more ancient worlds while maintaing a sound which very, very British. While some of the instrumental sections can be a bit long winded at times without offering strong instrumental hooks or flash, the extremely enjoyable vocals and narrative make the album worth a listen. Not a masterpiece, but a solid effort.

Oh, what a wonderful album - especially for fans of Gabriel-era Genesis. I hear traces of other bands as well. Take the first long track, Three One-Eyed Gods: The mellotron is quite crimsonesque; later on, the sound of the keyboards get me thinking of Eloy and then the guitar sounds close to the edge of this formidable track strongly remind me of Yes' Soon. At the beginning of Sick Roses, Gryphon come to mind (no wonder, when the label is called Medieval Records). But the mood is definitely Genesis. Admittedly Peter G. is a much "better" singer, but the - in a lovely way - quirky vocals only add to the charme (well, not for my wife ;-} but for me!). And you can easily check if these work for you on Bandcamp.

So, this is a very retro affair as you might have guessed from the above but that is very fine with me as, all great news music aside, the 70s are my favorite eta, prog-wise. And Lyrian don't copy or steal songs, they re-emulate the spirit, so to speak. Lots of melodies, great arrangements and, er, it's a concept album, too ;-)