A LIFEBLOOD PSALM

THE TWENTY COMMITTEE consists of Geoffrey Langley (l/v & keyboards), Justin Carlton (guitar, b/v), Steve Kostas (lead guitar), Richmond Carlton (bass & harp), Joe Henderson (drums, b/v). Together they have recorded a superb debut album that draws on the roots of classic progressive rock to interpret it in a modern setting. Overall, the music can be described as a blend of Steely Dan and ELP, Gentle Giant and Echolyn (at most reflective moments). There is cohesion throughout 'A Lifeblood Psalm' which flows smoothly from one track to the next. Elusive ingredients maintain a seductive atmosphere. All songs tend to build in character rather than just resorting to a lot of technical gymnastics. This album is intended to be instantly melodic and rewarding treat upon repeated listening. Of course, important point is the pleasant voice of Geoffrey Langley. His distinctive timbre can remind me about Freddie Mercury... Such quality needs to be shared with a wider audience. Now I hope, this wonderful release will receive load of favorable approvals.

A promising band'.. 3.5 Really

Just received a PM from a member of THE TWENTY COMMITTEE asking me to review theior debut album A Lifeblood Psalm, so after listening it several times, started to write my comments, because I liked what I listened.

Some reviews I found speak of a Prog band reminiscent of GENTLE GIANT or ELP'.Honestly I don't listen too much of that (Except the intro of The Knowledge Enterprise-Overturewhich sounds as a fusion of Knife Edge and four men GENESIS with some extra and pleasant dissonances), but for the rest, the album sounds to me like a blend of 'Alternative / Indie with a hint of TRANSATLANTIC and a few mind-blowing passages.

It's also interesting to find in some parts of The Knowledge Enterprise-Conceivers And Deceivers a clear influence of YES, but more fluid and with a modern sound that hits us like a breeze of fresh air.

But my favorite song is The Knowledge Enterprise-Tonight because of the contrast between the soft guitar and piano entrance and the explosive sections, maybe if the guys of the band would had allowed themselves to fall in excesses and experimentation, I would be more impressed with the debut.

But let's be honest, the album is very good, the production is impeccable and the musicians are very skilled, but sadly they go for a relatively safe path full of nice melodies and assumed few risks that I'm sure they are very capable to take, because when they dared, the album reach its peak like in The Knowledge Enterprise-Finale, which is sadly too short.

So, it's time for the rating, and it's hard, being that I believe they deserve at least 3.5 stars, but our system doesn't allow this, so as in the case of ELP and their debut, I will go with 3 stars, a good starting point for a band that I'm sure will give much more in future releases.

Highly recommended for fans of soft melodic Crossover Prog with very interesting tracks.

One of the major benefits of being involved with a site such as www.progarchives.com is that I am sometimes approached by a band that have seen some of my reviews, asking whether I would be interested in writing about their latest album. Such is the case with The Twenty Committee who was only formed in 2012, but have already released their debut album. Now, I am a recent member of the Crossover Team so wasn't involved when these guys were submitted, but I can see totally why my colleagues voted to include these guys in that subgenre, as they are mixing pop sensibilities (think Coldplay) with progressive (think Gentle Giant) with rock (think John Miles and City Boy).

The result is something that is complex, simple, yet stacked full of melodies and vocal harmonies that many bands would give their eye teeth for. I am always a sucker for a good key change, and the use of that technique in 'How Wonderful' provides an added sense of drama that has already seen twin lead vocals, twin lead guitars, being driven along by piano with the whole band just firing. In many ways it reminds me of the first time I came across Salem Hill, with the same sense of constrained power that gives them a real edge. There are loads of nuances and frills just thrown in that add to the overall sound and feel, and the more I play it the more I like it. Although they don't contain the menace and angst of Discipline, they definitely have something in common with them in the way that a pure piano sound is so important to much of what they do.

In many ways it is quite commercial, and these guys definitely understand late Seventies melodic rock (without ever falling into the sappiness of mass AOR). Whatever song I am listening to is the favourite, and the main question to ask is given that they have delivered this so quickly what have they got left? I know that at the end of the year this is going to be sitting comfortably inside my Top Ten. For more details visit www.thetwentycommittee.com

Well What a very good american crossover prog.

Yes with that so original american neo folk prog . This band is now in my opinion between the best american crossover prog ones.

I sometimes do not understand the obsession in some reviews to search for European influences ....Gentle Giant....Coldplay...

This prog is original ...is so N.American ...there is a define american line style with Echolyn,Spocks Beard.. ....and before with Kansas for example.

So,... similar to the bands I named before ..but i cant find euro prog influences .Really.

Very solid and well played album...impressing ..is their first album..to not believe it.

So congratulations....i am sure we will have and we have now a band that prestige the american prog as Echolyn,Spocks Beard,Neal Morse,Kansas,BJH...etc...

4 stars(4,5 really)

The Twenty Committee's "Lifeblood Psalm" is a great debut for this American Crossover band.

The 'Intro' is spoken dialogue atmospherics merging into the Neal Morse like 'How Wonderful'. There is a strong melody and measured cadence with clear easy listening vocals from Geoffrey Langley. He is also terrific on keyboards. Also on vocals is Justin Carlton, who plays guitars, along with Steve Kostas. The rhythm is left up to Richmond Carlton on bass, and harp, and Joe Henderson plays drums.

'Her Voice' is a 10 minute mini epic with an extended lead break that soars heavenly, and features awesome speed picking and glorious string bends. It is a brilliant lead solo following a standard style opening song structure. The lead break really jolts the ear after such an easy listening vibe on the opening. Eventually the track settles down again into soft vocals and syncopated percussion. A wah-wah pedal is utilised to maximum effect in the next guitar outbreak and then some ELP style keyboard with that Hammond sound grinds the track to a conclusion.

'Airtight' is next, opening with Led Zeppelin style acoustics and string pads lending a symphonic feel. Very smooth vocals speak of soothing themes; "I'll be the one that sings you off to sleep in this fairy tale". It is a nice break from the mayhem previous and leads to the colossal finale epic.

'The Knowledge Enterprise' is in 5 parts, sliced up nicely into components that tell a story with Christian principles scattered throughout.

'Overture' opens proceedings with classical piano runs over an odd time sig augmented by soaring lead guitar, and outbreaks of metal riffing. The mood shifts remind me of Transatlantic or Dream Theater, heavy tension to the release of bright keyboards. The synth break is incredible as the metal guitar chugs some speed tempos.

'Conceivers and Deceivers' continues the epic with a song using a fractured time signature and crystalline vocals with lush harmonies. It moves along beautifully with chiming guitar and relentless keyboard runs.

'Tonight' settles into a slow moody melancholy with some grand violin sounds and a sparkling piano melody. The dreaminess in the tone is unmistakable as Langley sings of forsaken love, the search for truth, "I will be all you need in time you will see"? and "the walls that you built will fall down at your feet."

'With These Eyes' is the next part of the track, beginning with heavy staccato stabs of music, then it locks into a 4/4 standard pop feel. The faster tempo is bright, and the melody feels similar to previous songs, rather than its own song. It does have many breaks from heavy to light shades, but this segment is the most mainstream approach thus far. It even has some kitsch lyrics "starlight, starbright, first thing I burn tonight? and rise out of the ashes tonight." The lyrics are a bit clichéd here but the music makes up for this, especially the lead break that screams and later there is a nice bubbly effervescent synth solo.

'Finale' ends the album with some hyper piano and retro synth sounds, and one more verse to wrap it all up. Overall, The Twenty Committee offers some excellent music with a few tracks that really excel in terms of structure and musicianship, especially 'Her Voice' and parts of the epic 'The Knowledge Enterprise'. The band have the same Christian themes found amongst Neal Morse albums but are never overbearing. At times there is too much emphasis on the vocals that do not vary enough for my tastes. The music speaks for itself though and it is an uplifting style of music shining a light in the prog world.

Okay, it's official. We need a new sub-genre called "Prog Pop" because these bands are coming out of the woodwork all over the place. Probably influenced by the likes of Frost* or ELO, bands such as Active Heed and The Twenty Committee are fusing pop into their music like it should have been there all along. I'm no pop fan, but I do have to admit that it sounds fresh and inviting, to say the least.

The Twenty Committee's debut album "A Lifeblood Psalm" is certainly an ambitious take on the prog style of music. After a great little intro, the album begins with a very "pop" song called "How Wonderful". Now, this may sound weird, but the chorus reminds me of something pop band Lonestar would do. That was a turn-off at first, but then the track progresses to more lovely lyrics and then a KILLER instrumental portion with flaring pianos, pounding drums, and excellent guitar solos. This, my friends, is what The Twenty Committee does best. They take a lovely, gentle-spirited love song, and then they turn it into a display of both surprising virtuosity and ingenuity. Soon enough, the pop sensibility in this album becomes more endearing than irksome. It did for me, anyways. If we love "progressive" music so much, sometimes we just have to sit back and wait. This album is a case in point of waiting to get the bigger picture.

Again and again, this group has impressed me, as this entire debut album is worthy of even the "strictest" prog fan. The classic sound of the fantastic guitars, the worthy drumming, and the excellent piano/keys straight out of Coldplay and Frost* are all more than just complementary to the whole experience. They are the main show, as the outstanding vocals pleasantly lead us along a path of love and music; from one stunning instrumental passage to the next. And, if you can't relate to the lovesick lyrics or even the bit of social commentary involved in the multi-track masterpiece, "The Knowledge Enterprise", then maybe you need to pet a kitten or play "phone" with a toddler. This is innocent stuff here. I have no problem with that.

The Twenty Committee is currently offering this great album for FREE on their bandcamp page, so I hope everyone gives it a listen. Believe me, you will get hooked on the gentle vocals and the wild displays of piano and guitar expertise, if you just try.

The Twenty Committee is a fairly new band that has been playing together only since 2012. It began as a solo effort of Geoffrey Langley (vocals and keyboards), but soon became a full band with the addition of Justin Carlton (guitars and vocals), Joe Henderson (drums and vocals), Steve Kostas (guitars) and Richmond Carlton (bass). And just after that, they started to record their debut album A Lifeblood Psalm (2013) that was released in April.

There's a whole new generation of Progressive bands that I like to call 'New Wave Of Progressive Pop'. These bands usually write pretty accessible music but by adding twists and pieces together they have much Prog Rock going on. Just like late 70's bands did, but this time with an updated sound. Few weeks ago I reviewed the Swedish Dynamo Bliss, today it is time for the Americans of The Twenty Committee.

A Lifeblood Psalm (2013) caught my attention right away because it was recorded in Neal Morse's studio Radiant Records, so I was expecting a minimum of quality here. And boy! It's good when your expectations are surpassed!

If you want to know what the hell I meant by 'Progressive Pop' in the beginning of the review, just listen to 'How Wonderful', the first proper track on A Lifeblood Psalm (2013). After a curious intro piece the band stacks with a great track. What we have in here is a wonderful Pop track with a great and catchy chorus but at the same time with Prog Rock sophistication. No wonder that the band decided to record their album at Neal Morse's studio. Their sound has a lot to do with Neal's solo career and even more with his Flying Colors project. All of this albums were recorded at Radiant Records, so if you know them you know what to expect from The Twenty Committee album in terms of sound.

'Her Voice' begins, and once again, the perfect Prog/Pop match, something like Coldplay meets Yes. Geoffrey Langley has strong compositions and a great voice, not just that, The Twenty Committee has excellent musicians. In special the keyboards and guitars parts on this particular track. The second part of the song lets the 'Prog loose' a bit. Great track. 'Airtight' is the weakest track on the album. It is indeed a pretty song, filled with classical moments and nice melodies. But it turns out to be a regular Pop piece of music that does not dare go to new places.

'The Knowledge Enterprise' is a five parts suite that clocks 21'31 minutes but unfortunately was divided into different tracks. Not that this fact gets in the way of the audition tough. It begins wonderfully with 'Overture', an intricate piece with many different sections and a good use of the synths. Bass player Richmond Carlton and drum player Joe Henderson has to be mentioned here cause they did a great work. The suite follows with 'Conceivers And Deceivers', this one continues the previous melody, but now with wonderful vocals and a good vocal melody all along. Great riff and synths too. 'Tonight' is an acoustic piece with guitars and piano that soon is joined by vocals, nice double ones. Towards the end, the rest of the band appears for some time and we have a nice 'power up' on the track before the follow up 'With These Eyes'. The fourth part brings back the initial melody, being a good one is great to have it back once again. 'Finale' closes the album and one thing is certain after the last second: the sensation that the band accomplished their goal!

The Twenty Committee prove themselves as one strong act. A Lifeblood Psalm (2013) is a hell of a great debut with great musicianship and great compositions. The only low point is that the CD doesn't have a booklet with the lyrics and info. But the cover is great tough! An album well recorded, well produced, well mixed and well played.

Hats off to a new great band!

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

THE TWENTY COMMITTEE are a young band out of the USA and this is their first release. It was recorded in Neal Morse's studio after band leader Geoffry Langley went down to meet Neal and played some of their material for him. He obviously was impressed enough to give this band an opportunity. Neal's producer Jerry Guidroz produced this album. The music is very melodic and accessible, really it's a collection of good songs.

"Introduction" is just that, a short intro piece of samples and piano before reserved vocals and strings take over as the piano continues. Melancholic is the word. "How Wonderful" just doesn't do it for me. It reminds me of some of the Christian bands I used to listen to back in the day. I just tired of the chorus very quickly. "Her Voice" is the longest track at over 10 minutes. I like this one. There's an almost jazzy vibe to this. Check out the instrumental section beginning before 3 minutes, some interesting guitar on this section that gets a little insane around 4 1/2 minutes. Nice. Vocals aren't back until 6 1/2 minutes in. Another instrumental section follows that puts the focus on the keyboards this time. "Airtight" is a mellow ballad-like tune with reserved vocals and strings standing out. Not a big fan of this one.

Next up is the closing suite called "The Knowledge Enterprise" which consists of five tracks. First up is "Overture" an instrumental that does impress. Some powerful stuff here, especially half way through. Then back to that pleasant keyboard led sound. "Conceivers And Deceivers" is vocal-led with more melodic and pleasant instrumental work. "Tonight" is mellow with relaxed vocals and piano leading the way. Strings do become dominant after a couple of minutes then back to vocals and piano. It's okay. "With These Eyes" is a dynamic tune with vocals. I like the keyboards late. "Finale" is the short track that ends the album.

I'd love to give this 4 stars but this just doesn't hit that spot if you know what I mean. If your into Neal Morse or the singer / songwriter style of music please check these guys out.

US band THE TWENTY COMMITTEE was assembled by Geoffrey Langley in 2012, as he needed a band that could perform some of the more demanding material he had made. Some months and many recording sessions later The Twenty Committee launched their debut album "A Lifeblood Psalm", opting for April 1, 2013, to be the official release date.

"A Lifeblood Psalm" is an elegant and engaging debut album by The Twenty Committee. Distinct, elegant arrangements with an emphasis on melodies and harmonies, mainstream oriented escapades is a likely description and general first impression, but with quite a few nifty, quirky details simmering beneath the surface. There is a touch of Kansas and Spocks Beard to this material, and quite a lot more of Neal Morse, and those who have an affection for the solo albums of the latter should be a likely key audience for this production.

(5/10)

I'm usually willing to give any free music a chance, and since this was available on BandCamp, and also because the music comes with the implied endorsement of Neal Morse (whose studio was used for the recording), I thought I'd give it a go. So I went into The Twenty Committee's debut album, "A Lifeblood Psalm", with some hope but without many prior expectations.

I've found a reasonable amount of high quality music available for free on the internet, but this was a bit of a let-down. A lot of the songs just plod along unthreateningly with no real excitement, ending without much ceremony, and I do struggle to remember many passages (even writing this straight after having listened to the album). It isn't anywhere into annoying or thoughtless pop, but for me it is slap bang in the middle of bland. Maybe I haven't given it enough listens, but none of the reviews mention this as a particular 'grower' so I think I'll just leave it here.

One of the biggest problems for me are the vocal lines. Though they may be pleasant enough to listen to, they come across as very standard with no real personality behind them. There's not much intensity or range, and crucially very little variation.

Some parts call to mind the duller sections of Coldplay or maybe Elvis Costello; music that I have no problem with, but do not personally care for. It's not that the album is downbeat or depressing but on the whole dull, with not enough overall variety in the sound. The softer ballady sections of the album are so by-the-numbers as to be completely unremarkable. The keyboards and guitar can also feel a little lifeless and cheap at times. I'm not sure if this is a problem with recording, mixing, or the instruments themselves, but I do think it is a noticeable and distracting flaw. Half the time the sound is just rather insubstantial, especially in the vocal sections.

There are some good touches in the music here and there. Some of the keyboard solos grab my attention, and the instrumental sections of the multi-part suite "The Knowledge Enterprise" are an album highlight (especially the piano in the overture/finale). But a lot of the album is just too generic for me to swallow, and my reaction at the end of it just ends up being a resounding 'meh'. I usually write a bit more than this for my reviews, but on this occasions I don't have much else to say about it, it all just feels a bit... flat really.

If it sounds like I hate this, I actually don't, there's nothing here really I hate, personally I just find the majority of this album to be forgettably mediocre, really not much more than a mild bore. But I am perfectly content listening to it in the background whilst doing something else. Good for you if you enjoyed "A Lifeblood Psalm", but this album didn't really hold anything noteworthy for me, especially with respect to progressive music.

Split Throwback

Albums like A Lifeblood Psalm can be difficult to review. I have been sitting on writing this for a while, just because I'm still not entirely certain what my exact opinion of this record is, and reports of this album being an enormous grower from many people whose opinions I respect caused me to maybe give it a few more chances than I normally would. But the more I listen to this album, the more I feel that for every part I like, there's a part I equally dislike, and each subsequent listen has made me enjoy the parts I enjoy even more and dislike the parts I dislike even more, so I'm still in the same place.

A bit of history, this album is the debut of a new group, calling themselves a "committee of musicians" as per the band name, formed by songwriter Geoff Langley in New Jersey. The band has reached some popularity due to connections with progressive rock icon Neal Morse, and I can definitely hear his pervasive influence on this record. For a debut, this is very well recorded, which I think is a huge advantage for these guys. Jerry Guidroz, who has worked on some of my favourite albums from Morse such as Flying Colors and ?, handles the production jobs here, which I am, once again, quite divided on. The instruments are clear and easily recognizable, but the mix often feels incredibly empty, like there are just the core instruments and nothing else.

In terms of the music of this album, it's on the very soft end of progressive rock, leaning towards the throwback style of modern prog in the vein of The Flower Kings and Transatlantic than the true modern styles of The Mars Volta or Porcupine Tree. Although this album isn't strictly either, it has elements of both symphonic prog in the style of Yes and Genesis, and neo-prog in the style of Marillion and IQ, scattered throughout the four full songs here. So, this could be said to be a classic prog album written in the modern era with modern production. Keeping to the classic prog style, as I said before, we only have four songs here (plus an intro). The band has chosen to keep one of their epics (10-minute "Her Voice") as one track, yet split the 22-minute "Knowledge Enterprise" into its five movements.

Throwback albums, as a whole, don't move me that much. I find that modern bands who try and recreate the sounds of long past not only do it with less flair, but end up sounding tired and ancient in their attempts, as well as completely failing to progress the genre in terms of innovation. But, you see, this album is not just a 70's throwback album, it also brings to mind the neo-prog movement of the 80's just as much, so you can imagine my sudden enjoyment at the synths used here. I have never been able to fully explain or understand why I greatly dislike the symphonic music of Yes or Transatlantic or The Flower Kings, yet absolutely love the neo-progressive music of Marillion, IQ and Arena. But in this context, you can imagine me grinning at the synthesisers and soaring guitar lines, yet whenever the warbling noisebox comes back into play, I'm suddenly bored out of my mind.

There are undeniably some good melodies here though, whether or not the delivery is to your liking. Some of these songs even border on pop rock, but the band puts enough instrumental dueling in to remind you that this is anything but simple. My personal favourite is the piano-based central movement of the 22-minute epic, "Tonight". The piano throughout this is probably one of the better things about it; it sticks through the whole record playing backing to most of the music. Shorter track "Airtight" has another great melody, but I feel the vocal performance and recording do it no justice and make it feel weak.

But then there are the things I don't like. This album is poppy, I've said that before, but there are moments where this gets dangerously close to country-pop. I mean, the lead hook on "How Wonderful" sounds directly off a Shania Twain record, and as someone who was forced to listen to that trite for my entire childhood, it doesn't bring good memories. I feel many of the harmonizing, as well as the fact that the vocalist has one mode of singing for the whole record, come off as incredibly cheesy, and not in a good way. The other big thing for me, is that when this band wanks, they wank hard. The solos and instrumental sections on this are embarrassingly messy and unmelodic. "Her Voice" actually starts out quite nice, but it dissolves quickly into a mess of 'solos' that involve flying all over the place as fast as you can. Not even Dream Theater has this much wank.

A Lifeblood Psalm holds some nice melodies, good structures and progressions, and some quite good music, but its delivery and performance, as well as choice of instruments and production techniques, just makes it feel tired in comparison to so many modern bands that are moving forward with progressive rock. There is definitely promise here, in the performances and songwriting, but I feel the delivery needs to be a bit more unique to get anywhere in my books.

5.6

Originally written for my Facebook page/blog: www.facebook.com/neoprogisbestprog