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3.70 | 97 ratings | 2 reviews | 23% 5 stars Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection Write a review Buy COSMOGRAF Music

Studio Album, released in 2017 Songs / Tracks Listing 1. Tethered and Bound (6:36) 2. Trouble in the Forest (7:28) 3. The Motorway (8:22) 4. Cut the Corn (5:08) 5. Melancholy Death of a Gamekeeper (4:58) 6. Hay-Man (12:37) Total Time 45:09 Line-up / Musicians - Robin Armstrong / vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, composer, producer With: - Rachael Hawnt / vocals (1,3,6) - David Allan / spoken word (1,2,6) - Walter De La Mare / spoken word (6) - Matt Stevens / guitar solo & Fx (2) - Rachel Hall / violin (6) - Kyle Fenton / drums Releases information Artwork: Robin Armstrong CD Cosmograf Music ‎- COS07 (2017, UK) LP Plane Groovy ‎- PLG058 (2017, UK) Thanks to mbzr48 for the addition and to projeKct for the last updates Edit this entry

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COSMOGRAF The Hay-Man Dreams ratings distribution

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music (23%)

Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection (41%)

Good, but non-essential (31%)

Collectors/fans only (4%)

Poor. Only for completionists (1%)

COSMOGRAF The Hay-Man Dreams reviews

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by A Crimson Mellotron
PROG REVIEWER

A really drab album! This is the sixth studio release by Robin Armstrong-headed progressive rock project Cosmograf and this also happens to be one of the releases on the heavier end of the Cosmograf spectrum. 'The Hay-Man Dreams' is melancholic and sorrowful act and is actually conceptually bound by the family story of a great-grandfather's passing, with the music reflecting the overall dark themes and explorations with a sound that is quite vintage, full of heavy, sweeping guitars and scorching mellotron cries, topped by the idiosyncratic vocals of Armstrong which are always recognizable and a significant part of the Cosmograf musical universe.

And while the retro measures of the album are there, structured as a six-track single LP, there are a few contemporary influences as well, meaning that amidst the Floyd-ian or pastoral 70s musings, you might as well catch glimpses of a Porcupine Tree or Thomas Thielen-reminiscent episodes. This is all good but somewhere along the lines the excitement wears thin, the tension that is usually omnipresent on other releases by Armstrong is a little dim on 'The Hay-Man Dreams' as the record meanders through some extended instrumental passages like on 'The Motorway' or the 12-minute title track. On the contrary, 'Cut the Corn' and 'Trouble in the Forest' successfully deliver just that tasteful piece of grim melancholia, with that soaring grip of the mastermind's vocals delivering the rather forlorn lyrics of the songs. This 2017 release is good, tight listen but I genuinely feel that there are stronger offerings in this discography.

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Posted Thursday, January 16, 2025 | Review this album | Report (Review #3145694)

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