ONES & ZEROS - VOLUME 0

New Jersey's gift to intellectually stimulating eclectic and crossover prog is back with the follow-up (or predecessor?!) to 2015's wonderful Ones & Zeroes, Vol. 1.

1. "ReInstall_Overture" (3:57) fast, brash, and poppy, this one let's me know that we're in for a more rock operetta- like adventure here. I'm reminded here of XTC or some of the poppier KING CRIMSON or ASIA music from the 1980s. It's very nice, but not great. (8.75/10)

2. "Connecting" (4:53) bleeds over from the opening overture, quickly adding singing to the mix. There's a cool intensity to this one while the vocals are going on, but then it gets weird between. "You are the [&*!#] tonight" is an odd lyric to throw in there before going back to stronger intensity. The intricate weave is pretty cool in the next section. This is almost feeling like a visual song, a vehicle for a story to be told on stage. (9/10)

3. "Olympia" (5:15) again bleeding over from the previous song, I like the flow of this section of the album. Great melody line for the first verse followed by a nice little instrumental and decent call-and-response chorus. The story is again feeling as if it's being delivered (or should be delivered) on a stage. And a good story it is with Olympia being some kind of AI servant/slave (who goes off like the OS in the film Her). (9/10)

4. "The Future Doesn't Need You" (5:50) continues the story in a much more delicate, emotional way, with the album's best music, best melodies and powerful lyric. (10/10)

5. "Unintended Consequence" (3:35) Broadway, anyone? (8/10)

6. "Perfect Babies" (4:43) Despite continuing the clever tongue-in-cheek story, despite getting stronger as the song goes along, this one just misses. (7.5/10)

7. "Logical Conclusion" (6:40) despite two awesome instrumental sections (from the end of the second minute to 3:18, and 3:55 to 5:15) and a great choral section near the end, this song fails to "hook" me with any melodic or lyrical lines. (8.5/10)

8. "Click Away!" (15:28) an epic that opens with a sound very familiar to those who have luxuriated in the sonic magic of THE FLAMING LIPS' 2002 masterpiece, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. The lyrics (referring to modern humankind's obsession with quick-access information and entertainment) are great but the melody and song dynamics fall a little flat. Despite several shifts and nice injections from chords, riffs, arpeggi, and interesting instruments/sounds, the song never really rises to a level deserving of superlatives. Great sound and melody in the chorus at 3:50. As a matter of fact, it's the "Thank you Click Farm" choruses throughout that are the most engaging highlights of the song. (8/10)

9. "Ones & Zeroes" (7:07) reminding me of a lot of some music by the CARS, this one gets into my brain enough to bring me back for more. For the finale of the story line, I'm not quite sure what the point has been: "It's always been binary code," means ... what exactly? (8.5/10)

I think the failing of this album is in the band's decision to try to be cleverer and quirkier than they needed to be-- especially with vocal melody lines; just too busy! The best song has the most stable and simple melodies.

Four stars; an excellent addition to the prog lexicon--especially to the necessary conversations regarding the values and priorities of "civilized" society. Too bad the album doesn't maintain the high and engaging standard that is sets forth with the first four songs.

Listening to this, the new and hotly anticipated 3RDegree album, my first thoughts centered around "Connecting": the band, more aggressive than ever, sings of trolls emerging, not in the high fantasy sense you'd expect from most prog but in the contemporary sense of malicious online hordes more fearsome than the forces of Mordor. Mostly, where Vol. 1 was focused on a parodic, Kafkaesque near future Internet of Things, Vol. 0 - appropriately enough for numerically taking a step back - is a record of the present, of our current technological issues, and from here looking forwards. The lyricism becomes dead serious, but the lyrics, concept, and songs still fail to glitch. And even on this very in-the-now release, the band still finds time for "Olympia", an interesting exploration of relationships with artificial intelligence and the group's fascinating idea of a love song.

Of even greater note are the instrumentals. As mentioned earlier, the band comes charging out of the gate; "Re1nstall_0verture" and "Connecting" form a double whammy of some of their hardest edged material yet, proving quite exhilarating as their sound fleshes out. The tracks, especially the aforementioned three and the suite "Click Away!", prove their best yet. The guitars and keys here are used to their maximum potential, weaving vivid electronic soundscapes, beautiful prog-pop, and driving rock. As the binary switches, 3RDegree has gone into overdrive, crafting another winner.

Some of you may recall seeing in the #5 position of the 2015 PA Top 100 an album called "Ones & Zeroes - Volume 1" by a band named 3rdegree. I noticed it, and in early 2016 I ordered a copy and was sufficiently impressed to go ahead and order the previous three albums, all of which have their share of rewards. However, this top-ranking album really stood apart from the others for me. More than a collection of songs, it was a concept album about life extension and ultimately becoming trans-human, i.e. becoming integrated with the Net as an entity, leaving your biological human form behind.

Now with any "volume 1" there can be expected a second volume, and after a long wait, 3rdegree finally released "Ones & Zeroes: vol. 0". Perfect! The duology is now complete!

There was some trepidation on behalf of the band. Would the second part live up to the expectations of listeners who rated volume 1 so highly? From the get go, any doubts just fly out the window. Just plug into the opening track, an instrumental entitled "Re1install_0verture". If that isn't a solid welcome back that'll pull you out of your seat then I don't know what. It's a brilliant start to the album which includes musical themes from both Vol. 1 and Vol. 0.

Now just let that album play and get into it. We are done with the topic of extending one's existence and so we've also said goodbye to Valhalla Biotech, which I felt added charm and atmosphere to volume 1. But our future modern world is dissected further with the topics of synthetic companions, genetic manipulation of the unborn, click farms, and other technological wonders we are enjoying or on the cusp of benefitting from.

I say this with intended irony because that it how 3rdegree wants you to understand their views of these technological developments. As with the lyrics of any of their albums I know, there is a cynicism masquerading in naive optimism. Which brings me round to the opinion that each song has lyrics intended to provoke thought and possibly a little alarm or concern as well. Add to that the unique and skillful vocal delivery of George Dobbs and you have songs that beckon your attention.

Although it would be easy enough for me to write complimentary words for every track, the big number has to be "Click Away!", a track over 15 minutes long and broken into parts, though it runs without breaks and shifts seemlessly from one part to the next. The song's lyrics are not included inside the digipak and you need to visit their web site where the lyrics appear with links to other web sites appear in the lyrics. 3rdegree have made the theme of "click away" a reality!

3rdegree have no problem coming up with engaging music, but at times you might not really pick up on the prog aspect. Their music older music previously struck me as 1990's alternative college radio intellectual tunage that was fed and raised on seventies prog. But with "Ones and Zeros" there seems to be much more going on. Wait! Was that a bit of Supertramp I heard closing off the album? Maybe it's just my imagination. Is there a suggestion of Styx? Or Queen? Well, you get the point. But anyway, 3rdegree's music is like a complex architectural structure that does its job. No blazing cascades of notes. No overt brandishing of time signatures in your face. No forced stops and starts. Just music that sounds cool and offers more nutrition for the soul than your typical mainstream alternative band. And yet I can't help feel that the band have really stretched themselves out this time, creating an album that is perhaps more "proggy" than their earlier works, but still managing to get some great melodies in the songs.

What else can I say but congratulations to 3RDegree for an album well worth the wait! Now I really want to hear volumes 1 and 0 back to back!

The new album 'Ones & Zeros - volume 0' is the prequel to 2015's volume 1 and another ambitious concept album from 3RD DEGREE that draws on themes of trans-humanism and the unintended consequences of being technologically connected with binary codes taking over our existence.

Re1nstall_0verture opens the album in a maelstrom of spacey keyboards from Dobbs, from paradiddles and jagged guitar riffs. It is glorious to enter an album with such a glowing atmosphere. The lead guitar work of Kliesch, Ziegler and Pseja shines brightly alongside the complex bass lines of Pashman. The ominous symphonic strings coalesce with squealing guitars embellished by the relentless drum patterns of Durham. Overall this is a brilliant instrumental.

Connecting opens with haunting piano motifs and an odd meter with estranged vocals. The effect is astonishing and makes this a very engaging composition.

Olympia is replete with lead guitars and keyboards with gorgeous harmonies and the theremin thrown in for good measure.

The Future Doesn't Need You has a soft opening and builds with quirky time changes and meters that would keep any respectable metronome swinging wildly. There are cool guitars and reflective lyrics to ponder over.

Unintended Consequences has a bouncy rhythmic layer and a striking harmonised vocal treatment on the high and low register that works well with the Dickason and Dobbs Duet. It is a very quirky song in passages but it engages the ear for some compelling listening.

Perfect Babies is really a low point of the album in terms of structure but I liked the Nietzsche quote by the child at the very end.

Logical Conclusion brings the album back to a high standard with the pristine vocals of Dobbs. It is a wondrous keyboard journey with meandering guitars that are simply outstanding.

Click Away! is the mini epic of over 15 minutes in length. It is a genuine multi movement suite that begins with airy piano and pondering lyrics. Here the atmosphere feels like something from the Beatles back catalogue from the White Album to Abbey Road era. Again the words echo the sentiments of the album that rejection is just one click away and there is a genuine anti social media theme permeating through out. The epic features glistening keyboards and marching drums with psychedelic harmonies. There are glorious guitar slides with impeccable fingerwork up-and-down the frets like a nervous spider. The lyrics have an emotional impact along with the beautiful acoustic picking and Beatlesque strings. It moves into early Gabriel Genesis structure, building slowly and inevitably to strong pounding orchestral rhythm. The offkilter percussion is jarring and urgent as it speaks of clicking on social media, and Facebook sites becoming a click farm for the consumer in this technological jungle we inhabit. The grinding organ and fuzzed guitar locks in and a more aggressive vocal as things heat up speaking of viral posts, spreading like wildfire projecting the ideal human. It is a wonderful track and the definitive highlight of the album.

Ones & Zeros concludes the album with jaunty rhythms, pounding syncopated drums and raspy vocals asking the question are you a one or are you a zero, stuck in a binary code much like the nude on the cover being enveloped by digitised creatures. The track has some very progressive sections with unusual time sigs and extended instrumentals. The theme of trans humanism is prominent; what are we becoming, is the technology engulfing humanity to the point of assimilation and what are we doing about it?

This new release is a dynamic album from 3RD DEGREE and a worthy successor to the previous releases. It comes highly recommended to lovers of concept prog with a quirky innovative central core.

So the band continues with the suite of their concept album "Ones & Zeros vol.1" with their take on the issues associated with the evolution of technology. The story could apply to their own music! The music of 3rdegree has a foot in the retro prog and another one in the new prog. You can hear some past influences like Genesis, but they have their unique style. The band has done another great job with the vocals of George Dobbs who still have a unique voice which is quite enjoyable enhancing every song. The songs are well crafted with a Pop sensibility mix with some beautiful synthesizers arrangements, humouristic lyrics bringing a captivating atmosphere. The guitar is never taking the spot but is well balanced with the rest of the instruments. I really enjoy the sound old and futurist of the keyboards. The band is also using some well-dosed classical arrangements, but it never gives more emotion than the multi-part vocals arrangements. If I had some reservations about the music of the band in the past, I think that this time, all this has vanished with this album. I needed my headphones to discover this album...

Robert pointed out to me that I would be one of the few reviewers coming to the second album immediately after hearing the first, so what would I think of the two albums working together? The albums are designed to be viewed as a pair, from the artwork and layout through the music and ideas. While I smiled when I noticed that this was called 'Volume 0', part of me would rather it had been called 'Volume 10', which of course is 2 expressed in binary code, but that really is nit-picking (yes, I'm a geek ' been working in I.T. for more than 20 years, but it's not my fault).

Lyrically it is the perfect follow-on from the debut, so much so that it feels that it could become part of a permanent loop, so much so that the question becomes 'which came first, 1 or 0?'. Musically it does feel very much of a second half of a piece of work, possibly slightly more acoustic? The musical themes and styling of the debut are carried into this, with the same influences very much in play, so much so that one actually finds it quite hard to realise that there was break between the recording of the two albums as opposed to being recorded at the same time. And if anyone doubts the City Boy analogy just listen to George at 5:20 on 'The Future Doesn't Need You' and see what I mean.

It is also definitely worth mentioning that all the lyrics are in the pack, apart from one, and the only way to get that is to go the Valhalla Biotech site. Once there the lyrics can be seen, but also there are various links, for example '5 Things That You Need To Know' (which takes you to a blog about becoming more involved in the local music scene) or 'Become A Shareholder' (which of course takes you to their store). As I write this, I see that the album is #2 on the PA charts (interestingly I gave maximum scores to #1, #3 and #5 ' haven't heard #4). It is a totally different album to the latest by Roz Vitalis, the current incumbent of the top slot: that is very much a progressive album, from the RIO scene, while this is progressive pop that is fully Crossover. In terms of sheer pleasure and repeated playing this wins hands down, as it just makes me smile each and everytime I play it. And isn't that something that music should be about? The two 'Ones & Zeros' albums perfect complement each other, and all that can be done is buy both and listen to them back to back.

Never a band to do the obvious, 3rdegree followed up "Ones & Zeroes - Volume 1" a futuristic tale of the digitization of a human mind that ends badly with "Ones & Zeroes - Volume 0", a futuristic tale of a man who purchases a human companion that ends badly.

Despite my tongue in cheek description of these album, I happen to love them both. 3rdegree have continued to produced albums of clever art rock, or crossover prog as we call it here at PA, fronted by exceptional vocals using lush harmonies and some deep intelligent lyrics.

The album as a whole brings me back to the days of 10cc and Supertramp, two other bands that excelled at playing catchy, compelling and thought provoking music for the discerning listener.

I find that this album draws me in even more than the previous album, and has become a staple in my car stereo this hot summer.

I'm especially hooked on the three middle tracks, "The Future Doesn't Need You", "Unintended Consequence" and "Perfect Babies". And of course the 15 minute epic "Click Away!" is a joy.

I'm not sure yet is this album has replaced "Human Interest Story" as my favorite 3rdegree album, but it's close.