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PRIORS

The Rupert Selection

Crossover Prog


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The Rupert Selection Priors album cover
3.72 | 6 ratings | 1 reviews | 0% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 2019

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Is This A Trick? (5:29)
2. Above The Sky (6:25)
3. Funeral Party (4:48)
4. Apollo (5:41)
5. Take Me To The Catacombs (3:23)
6. You Are A Doctor (5:30)
7. Whale Song (5:17)
8. Part II (6:36)
9. Pocket Thoughts (6:31)

Total time 49:40

Line-up / Musicians

- Reilly Somach / vocals, guitar
- Peter Crofton / vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, synths, percussion
- Zak Brown / drums

With:
- Janos "The Arcitype" Fulop / vocals (1)
- Christopher Talken / vocals (2,6)
- Cali Serino / vocals (7)
- Alex Allinson / guitars, co-production & mixing
- Peter Danilchuk / keyboards (1,4,6)
- Derek Tanch / piano & keyboards (2,3,6,8)
- Patrick Carr / piano (7,9)

Releases information

Artwork: SlimeSunday

CD AR Classic Records (2019, US)

Digital album

Thanks to tupan for the addition
and to projeKct for the last updates
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THE RUPERT SELECTION Priors ratings distribution


3.72
(6 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(0%)
0%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(33%)
33%
Good, but non-essential (17%)
17%
Collectors/fans only (50%)
50%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

THE RUPERT SELECTION Priors reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by TCat
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
4 stars The Rupert Selection is a crossover prog band founded in Manchester-by-the-Sea in the year 2009. Since this time, there have been 2 full length albums released, the 2nd album in June of 2019 and titled "Priors". The core band is made up of Reilly Somach on vocals and guitar, Peter Crofton on vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, synths and percussion, and Zak Brown on drums. There are several other musicians involved on an as needed basis throughout the album. "Priors" has 9 total tracks with a run time of just under 50 minutes.

"Is This a Trick?" begins it all with a solid heavy sound with the entire band playing from the start. Soon, the rhythm gets a bit tricky and the guitar heavy sound continues when the vocals come in. The lyrical structure is pretty traditional, but the melody and rhythm has hints of a more complex style to it. The guitar riffs and passages keep things on the heavy side and it keeps your attention. "Above the Sky" lightens things up a bit more with strummed guitar, airy vocals and a moderate tempo. When the chorus comes in, things get more intense both vocally and instrumentally, and complex with an ascending guitar riff that drives it forward, but things lighten up again on the verses and a tinkling piano is added to the strummed guitars. After the 2nd lyrical cycle, the rhythm stops and a lone guitar plays mysteriously along and soon a slow tapping percussion starts bringing in a start/stop pattern that later gets much heavier.

"Funeral Party" stays with the layered heavy sound and faster rhythm. Vocals come in early and have a more standard feel to the melody, and the style is reminiscent of "IQ" or "Oceansize". A piano easily penetrates the solid guitar wall of sound proving the mixing is done very well. "Apollo" goes back to the moderate beat and strummed guitars but this time with a sustained guitar layer on top. The track also returns to a slightly more complex sound, but remains mostly in heavy, yet accessible style. The music quiets down on the instrumental break with just a jangly guitar playing along with vocals that have become airy again and taking on a different melody before returning to the original chorus. "Take Me to the Catacombs" begins with an atmospheric drone that builds in intensity and with subdued percussion and vocals. The slow percussion gets louder as it goes on and the drone continues to swirl around.

"You Are a Doctor" returns to the heavy prog sound again with a heavy guitar riff and solid beat. A start/stop rhythm and a boiling guitar pattern generate a lot of tension which eventually moves to a complex drum and guitar pattern. The melody of the vocal line is more complex on this track also, but it matches the solid instrumental pattern. The instrumental break is really cool and progressive. "Whale Song" is immediately softer with a lone guitar. Subdued and airy vocals come in underneath the guitar with a very light percussion. Things remain atmospheric and layered even when the music gets louder and it continues to trade off from a minimal to a full sound. This track has some post rock tendencies, as the intense parts are quite thickly layered, but later pushes forward with a heavy riff and then ending softly again.

The next track is simply entitled "Part II". It begins with soft guitar arpeggios but quickly explodes into the heavy sound again and then alternates between soft and heavy. Vocals come back to the foreground in both the soft and heavy sections. The melody is more of a standard format this time around, but the alternating dynamic help keep it all interesting. Again, there is that solid tie in to the sound of IQ and Oceansize. Those that love those bands will love the heav, yet dynamic sound of this band. There is a nice dramatic, progressive riff in the instrumental break. "Pocket Thoughts" is the last track. Beginning with a moderately slow drum beat, the bass comes in, and then atmospheric guitars and synths which are later joined by airy vocals, but the overall feel is somewhat dark and ominous. Fuzzy guitar layers come in later pushing the sound to a post rock style again with an almost shoegaze atmosphere.

This is quite an excellent album, and for lovers of Oceansize (like me) and IQ will love this mostly heavy sound with a lot of dynamic variety. The few forays into a fuzzy post rock sound on "Take Me to the Catacombs" and "Pocket Thoughts" provide some nice variety, as if the dynamic changes in most of the other tracks weren't enough. Yet the album still sounds consistently great all the way through. Though it isn't quite as solid as some of the best Oceansize albums, it is still pretty close, and the band is one that I will be interested in hearing more about in future albums if they continue to develop this style. Definitely and excellent album that deserves a lot of attention from those that love their prog on the heavy, yet dynamic side. 4 glowing stars.

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