ISILDURS BANE & STEVE HOGARTH: COLOURS NOT FOUND IN NATURE

One would think that a project of the Swedish chamber-symphonic rock band Isildurs Bane with Marillion's frontman Steve Hogarth would get more attention in progressive circles. The music offered here deserves our full attention. I myself was drawn to this album because I loved the Isildurs Bane with Peter Hammill project 'In Amazonia' and learned to appreciate Steve Hogarth's vocals whilst recently listening to Marillion's 'F.E.A.R.' LP.

On this album the sound of Isildurs Bane is a mix of chamber music (great variety in wind and string instruments), world music (especially those violins), adult rock and symphonic rock. Some moments cast that acoustic beauty of Sigur Ros at their finest, whilst other moments remind us of the less electric compositions of Marillion in recent years. The arrangements are all filled with great musical detail, suprising sounds and original combinations of instruments. Steve Hogarth has written lyrics that enable him to perform in his most story-telling fashion, which suits the imaganitive music very well. His vocals stand out as particularly honest and 'in the room'. The result is a very listenable, yet complex album with a very adult feel to it. The songs are well-written; I guess they could have been performed with significantly less rich instrumentation without loosing their potency. My only complaint is that most songs tap in that same artistic / sensitive / emotional atmosphere. The final song 'Incandescent' brings a significant change in moods that could have been introduced earlier on in my opinion. Still a great high-quality album though!

I would recommend 'Colours Not Found in Nature' to all listeners with a slightly wider definition of progressive music. This could even be an interesting record for music fans in general.

The main attractive this album has to offer to the typical prog listener is clearly the vocal finesse, emotional richness and (when needed) powerful delivery, all provided by the notable Steve Hoggart, whom we find here in some time-off between Marillion performances.

Nevertheless, more interesting to the progger seriously involved with Avant-prog and Chamber Rock can be the textures interwoven by Isildurs Bane, that go well beyond a simple acompaniment or instrumental background. They contribute a stunning revision of contemporary counterpoint composition adapted to the occasion.

If one looks here for the same kind of dynamic that prevails in Prog, is probably wasting time. But the Swedish compensates this by far, for example, with an amazing treatment of the strings that takes advantage of the ability to slide between tones allowed by the absence of frets (just listen to "Ice Pop", the first track). A fine addition to the prog explorer's collection