THE TANGENT

Celebrating 20 years in the business, The Tangent returned in 2022 with their twelfth studio album, and although they historically suffered with line-up changes this one has been together for some time now so band leader/singer/keyboard player Andy Tillison is again joined by Jonas Reingold (bass), who also plays with the Steve Hackett Band, Luke Machin (guitar - Francis Dunnery's It Bites), Theo Travis (sax & flute - Soft Machine, Dave Gilmour, Robert Fripp) and Steve Roberts (drums - David Cross). Although the UK edition has an additional track, more of that later, the main album comprises four songs, of which three are 17-minute plus epics, all quite different from each other, while the last is 4-minute bouncy Motown-style track, "Wasted Soul".

For the most part there is no doubt this is an excellent album, but in some ways it seems strange that The Tangent started life with musicians from The Flower Kings as there are times I am reminded of them, and not necessarily in a good way. Although the songs have great structures and wonderful playing there are times when it feels as if they are searching for ideas. In opener "The Changes", which is about COVID times there is one instance where we get a line from "Eleanor Rigby", another when they start playing what sounded like the old advertising music one used to hear in cinemas, and another when the harmony vocals are all going "la la la". That probably makes it seem as if I did not enjoy the album, but that is not the case at all as there is a great deal going for it here with wonderful intricacy and melodic themes which come and go from a band who adamantly refuse to set themselves any boundaries. When it comes off, which it does for the most part, with "GPS Vultures" being a case in point (a 17 minute long Canterbury style instrumental) it is a masterpiece, but one wishes there had been a few instances when someone from outside had asked why they were going down a certain path.

Early editions and the vinyl version include a bonus track, a cover of UK's "In The Dead Of Night". I believe that UK have in many ways become one of the forgotten bands of the prog scene, which is nothing short of criminal as they were stunning, and I hope this extended and changed version gets newer proggers into their music. For all its faults this is still an incredibly solid album showing that even after two decades The Tangent continue to show many others what needs to be done. One for all progheads to enjoy.

Apparently, Andy Tillison has dreamed of releasing a triple live album since he was a kid, and he has now achieved just that with this, which includes recordings from 2004-2017 and if you have the CDs (which contain two more tracks) then it lasts an astonishing 2:23. Included in its entirety is the 2004 'Pyramids And Stars' concert in Germany featuring the 'Roine Stolt" line-up of The Tangent playing its way through the majority of the debut 'Music That Died Alone' album along with (then) new material from their second album 'The World That We Drive Through', although Guy Manning is not involved for some reason. Added to that, there are tracks from the 'COMM' era line-up of the band at a concert in the UK - plus music recorded in the USA in 2017 by the band's current line-up. These originally appeared on the 'Southend On Sea' and 'Hotel Cantaffordit' fan releases respectively.

I first came across Andy more than 25 years ago when he was a young Hamill-infatuated progger with Parallel or 90 Degrees, and over the years I have followed his career with interest as he is a musician who always follows what he wants to do, and who he wants to do it with, and the result is always fascinating. With material from the first album all the way through the career up to this point, it is interesting to hear Andy is at the heart of everything, and that there are different line-ups involved does not really matter, as realistically it is all about him. If he wants to sing 'Lucky Man' and get the crowd singing along with him then that's fine, and if he wants to put in a snippet of 'Do It Again' in another song then that is fine as well. They can be sentimental, or they can blast in an almost neo prog manner on 'A Spark In The Aether', always with a multi-layered approach which is guaranteed to keep any progger smiling throughout.

Of course, there are epics, and the twin keyboard approach for the earlier material allows the band to do things the later line-ups cannot, and there is an exuberance throughout this which is hard to match. There is a spark here which does not always come through on studio recordings, and the result is music which is a wonderful introduction to one of our great prog bands/composers, as Andy continues to drive them on to create moments of real magic.

How can this music be dead?

"The Music that Died Alone" is the recording debut of this ambitious "supergroup" project that combines members of The Flower Kings, Transatlantic, Van der Graaf Generator and other groups. The line-up of this band changes almost every time they release a new album, but this one is a serious contender to be the strongest they've ever had, and the proof, of course, is this album.

The album's signature suite is the one that kicks it off. "In Darkest Dreams" is divided into 8 parts and starts with frenzy and with the energy charged to the max, already squandering it from the start. "Prelude - Time for You" has an 8/8 tempo that makes the most of its space and charges the listener's ear with electricity in a matter of seconds. Very dynamic and potent, at times similar to the powerful instrumental sections of Dream Theater's previous albums - great start! The eclectic character is more than presented right from the start, changing style and atmosphere every few moments. Since the prelude is all instrumental, the second part of this suite "Night Terrors" features Roine Stolt, consistent as always, singing already embedded in his nocturnal demons from disgrace and loss of direction, as if he is close to death or already inside it. All of this exaggerated by the inherent drama of the night's hours close to sleep and heightened loneliness. The song drops down a gear but is still very rhythmic and leaves no room for respite. The instrumentation shines second by second and there is really nothing to put down. There are albums that require a gigantic predisposition from the listener, and this is certainly one of them. The third section "The Midnight Watershed" is again instrumental and faithfully continues the idea and purpose of the album, but doesn't stand out as a particular section. "In Dark Dreams" does. It enters from a fretless bass with calmer, more melodic melodies, and introduces Andy Tillison on vocals. With a spectacular, deep, and leading saxophone, the lyrics seem to connect with those of the second section, but in a very special way: Andy Tillison represents a sort of counsellor/angel who speaks to the protagonist of the second section from understanding and wisdom, while an airy instrumentation reflects on the skies of the auditory world the listener lives and flies over. "The Half-Light Watershed" is the fifth section, an instrumental that continues the end of the fourth section without a jolt. The sixth brick of this suite is entitled "On Returning (0:50)" and brings the third vocalist into the ring: Guy Manning (but very briefly as it only consists of one verse and lasts no longer than a minute). "A Sax in the Dark" is the seventh part and I don't think I need to explain what this sounds like. Just let yourself be guided by the visual image that the section title wants to create. The eighth and final section entitled "Night Terrors Reprise" brings Roine back, with his character of impaired vision at night and unbearable nightmares from which he tries to draw some strength. A wonderful (in the grand sense of the word) and fanciful suite, despite the darkness of the lyrics.

The second song is called "The Canterbury Sequence" and consists of 3 parts. The first, "Cantermemorabilia", begins with a keyboard riff that seems to be taken from a Gentle Giant song. This resemblance fades as soon as the other instruments enter. It sounds like light jazz, but it's weird, because at times it sounds like an Emerson, Lake & Palmer song. Andy's voice on this song is a perfect mix between Lake's and Sinclair's (Caravan). This album has serious influences from many great bands: Yes, TFK, Hatfield... A very particular section that works perfectly as a particular song, very volatile and creative! You can question some things about this album, but there is one thing you can't: the fluidity of its course. It glides as if oiled by some magical and unknown elixir. The second section "Chaos at the Greasy Spoon" is instrumental and flows over an equally jazzy and light 13/8. Great cover evolved from the very short song originally released by Hatfield. It's almost miraculous how successful the mix of styles is on this album. There is more than composition and theory here.... The melodies were given birth through a very particular and very musical inspiration. "Captain Manning's Mandolin" is the last section, and it is short and "cinematic". As if to relax a little after the concentration used in all the previous sections.

The third song is entitled "Up-Hill From Here" and is the only song on the album that is not divided into parts. Completely different from what you hear before. This album simply leaves no moment without surprises. The energy that inhabits this song (which for me is the lowest level) is similar to that of the first sections of side 1. It sounds like a jam where the solos seem to be improvised. It's another "rocking" piece, I just don't find the same essence as the others, and it seems to be a bit of a filler. I'm not saying it's bad! The truth is that the rest of the album sets the bar too high. It is also the least progressive song on the album.

The closing is provided by the 4-part suite named after the album: "The Music That Died Alone". The leap in quality is remarkable! The first part "A Serenade" is simply piano shimmering alongside ethereal arrangements. Again some jazz combined with symphonic rock. Andy again takes on the power of poetry in the second section "Playing On...", with lovely melodies. The character speaks as if he has little time left to die (or retire from his plane), remembering the good times and criticising the enormous amount of time human beings waste in life. "Pre-history" is a rather simple, funky instrumental section that closes the album. It's great to connect the composition with the sense of the end. Difficult to grasp as well. Sam Baine does a superb job here and throughout the album. The last section "Reprise" brings some scat singing from Andy and a repeat of lyrics from "Playing On...", as the name suggests. This works well as a closing to an imaginary and intense album. The instruments seem to say goodbye, giving the last of their strength and fading into an empyrean setting.

This album is a must for fans of eclectic progressive. Lots of interesting novelties. It falls short of being essential, but it is still spectacular and worthy of many listens and much enjoyment. Undoubtedly one of the greatest triumphs in each member's career!

The Tangent are a jazz-oriented progressive rock band, started in 2002, with an ever-changing roster of players surrounding the consistent presence and guiding force of songwriter-keyboardist -vocalist Andy Tillson. This is the band's 12th album, and contains 3 long-form tracks (17-20 min each) and final short track, each in an entirely different style. The opener, The Changes, deals with life during the pandemic lockdown, and is a fine example of The Tangent's multi-part compositional structure, a very nice track. The next track, GPS Vultures, is a jazz fusion instrumental jam that highlights the jazz instrumental prowess of the band, and is for me, the best track on the album. That is followed by the longest track (at over 20 minutes), The Lady Tied to a Lamp Post, which was the weak spot of the album, as it is repetitive and not musically or lyrically satisfying, and just drags on, bringing down the album. It deals with the homeless, is quite preachy, but doesn't provide much in the way of insight or inspiration. It could have worked as a much shorter song, but at 20 minutes it just becomes annoying. The album closes with a brief soul, R& B number, which is quite different and refreshing after the bummer that precedes it. There is also a bonus track that is available on some versions, a cover and extended version of U.K.'s classic 'In The Dead of Night', which is quite wonderful, as it expands upon and adds some new dimensions and directions to this already great track. If they would have cut down the length of 'Lady' to a reasonable and justifiable length (6-8 minutes) and included the bonus track on the actual album, this would have been a really great album. As it is presented, it is still very good, certainly worth checking out, just be forewarned about that one unworthy track. Best tracks: GPS Vultures, In the Dead of Night. Weak track: The Lady Tied To a Lamp Post. rating: 3.5

I have been doing a lot of reminiscing today thinking about Tillison's first band PARALLEL OR 90 DEGREES and how much I enjoyed them back in the day. "Proxy" is the 10th studio album released by THE TANGENT and Andy's sound has evolved from that VDGG/ Peter Hammill style on PARALLEL OR 90 DEGREES to more of a jazzy/ Canterbury vibe with THE TANGENT but one thing that hasn't changed is Tillison's incredible song writing. Yes even his vocal style was influenced by Hammill in a big way, more so in the early days. Heck they even got Hugh Banton of VDGG to guest on organ on their debut in 1996. But the lyrics continue to be very relevant and the man is one of us, a fan, and he's not afraid to sing about the things we all can relate to. I still remember his story about meeting Roger Waters on a plane and having a very interesting conversation with him and he actually thanked him in the liner notes of "Unbranded" for "The shoe factory in Tawain".

That relevancy certainly continues on 2018's "Proxy" another outstanding release by this five piece band. Andy writes in the liner notes "This record is for my dad". He also says "This was our 10th album made in the 25th year of our record label's history. We thank them as one, for belief, trust and dedication and wish them well for the future". There's a lot of rants on here, and I think Andy has earned the right to this and I can relate to most of them. "Proxy" and "The Adult Lie" are both over 16 minutes and they certainly scratch that Prog itch in a big way. The closer "Supper's Off" contains three more rants along with some very thoughtful lyrics. There's one instrumental "The Melting Andalusian Skies" where Theo Travis adds some nice sax.

This album is more about the keyboards and bass than guitar and drums and I always appreciate the jazzy elements of this band's music. This is more fun than "The Slow Rust Of Forgotten Machinery" but not as good in my opinion. I need to check out their two 2020's albums as well. This was a pleasure to spend time with this past week, like revisiting an old friend. The collaborators here voted this as the 6th best album of 2018, a lot of respect obviously.

Another massive album of millions of musical ideas, many borrowed, many from the workaday life of Andy Tillison and his merry little band of merry virtuosos, all smashed together this way and that (and sometimes other ways) into five songs.

1. "The Changes (17:06) after a rather moving reflective opening couple of verses, we get to Andy's view of life on the road. It sounds very nostalgic, though not as much fun since COVID-19 for these career musicians. The hooks are good, especially in the first five minutes, but then they become too fleeting: as if the band finds them but then gives them up for the next greatest idea. The musicianship is above excellent, but oft-times (as usual in Tangent work), it seems so for questionable reasons (I mean: does every musician always have to be performing at their top speed and with their most flashy stylings?) (30.75/35)

2. "The GPS Vultures" (17:01) Latin grooves to support a prog-jazz blend (aka: Jonas is busy!). Again, do these musicians, excellent each and everyone, really have to be soloing, showing off their flashiest chops, at every moment of these epic songs? Can't repeating motifs be established to allow the listener something to anchor one's self in? As usual, Andy (& Co.) flirt with imitation/borrowing other well known classic riffs, sounds, and themes to build upon, only oft-times they're too close for comfort--too much like the original. Then, how do you explain passages like the sixth and seventh minutes when it "appears" as if the band has broken down--where nothing flows, gels, or works. I suppose that's part of the "genius" of virtuosi: they can make any structure work ? even chaos. Then they can fall into holes of such sappy styles like the blues-rock-by numbers passage in the tenth and eleventh minute, or the acoustic John McLaughlin jazz passage in the fourteenth. Again, the execution and performances are top notch (amphetamines included) just, kind of, over the top. And it's all instrumental! (30.25/35)

3. "The Lady Tied to the Lamp Post" (20:52) a very nice, melodic and emotional opening leads to a lot of choatic noodling. As much as the heart-string-pulling music and lyrics seem to come from Mark Johnson's THE THE sound and chordal palettes, this start is, for me, the most engaging and enjoyable part of the album. Unfortunately, in the second quarter of the song the composition strays from melodic niceties until the soft instrumental passage in the tenth minute. This is then broken up by an abrasive screaming saw-synth solo in the eleventh (which does get better over time, with repetition). A stripped down jazz-rock section is then peppered with space synth and spacey electric guitar bent-note play. Good section as delicate piano and hard snare hits move the song forward into more delicate, airy music over which Andy sings quite sensitively. At 14:10 we're back to full force and more of Andy's narrative singing of current events in his surroundings. (35.5/40)

4. "Wasted Soul" (4:40) a kind of Neo-R&B pop songs à la The Style Council or The Blow Monkeys with plenty of hits from the banks of computer horns. The chord progressions and melody line kind of follows the Keith Jagger David Bowie collaboration for the remake of "Dancing in the Streets." It seems as if old age is hitting Andy hard. (8/10)

5." In the Dead of Night / Tangential Aura / Reprise" (16:11) * (a cover of the classic UK song from 1978 plus the Andy Tillison touch.) (I can see that some of these musicians might have tried making a living covering songs like this in their younger days.) I like the "Tangential Aura" jam all right (except for the drum machine sound of Steve's programmed drums). Then, in the Reprise, Luke has his best (most Allan Holdsworth-like) runs. (26.25/30)

Total Time 75:50

* bonus track on limited edition (U.K. cover)

B/four stars; an album of excellent musicianship with a busyness that is sometimes off-putting. At the same time, there is no denying the infectious charm of Mr. Andy Tillison's world perspective as well as my respect for his very sincere passion for music (and high standard of musicianship).

2022 sees The Tangent release their twelfth studio album, the really nice 'Songs From the Hard Shoulder' - this one consists of four new songs and a very interesting bonus track, all making up a total of 75 minutes worth of music, filled up with the usual Tangential goodness - a lot of jazzy pieces, shifting moods, menacing synths, and a Canterbury/Van der Graaf Generator-ish nod, all intertwined within Andy Tillison's quite recognizable musical vocabulary. Following up the not so impressive 'Auto Reconnaissance', this album is a definite improvement; However, something is missing and I do believe it is the bombastic lush side of the band's music that one can appreciate on the debut or on 'A Place In The Queue', or maybe it is the focus displayed on 'Proxy' not being too prevalent here, could also be the exuberant excellence of something like 'Le Sacre du Travail', but whatever it is, there is this overarching feeling of incompleteness.

Opening up the album is the 17-minute 'The Changes', a pretty good song for The Tangent's standards, but up until the middle; After that, it gets a little washed. Fine riffs and pleasing jazzy playing are all over this one, but it becomes quite forgettable at a certain moment, making a little too challenging to go though the whole thing. Next up is the 17-minute instrumental fusion-y explosion of 'GPS Vultures', perhaps the best track on the album, which also holds up pretty well for what it is, it also keeps the listener engaged as it is harder to predict where the band will go next. The big 20-minute epic 'The Lady Tied to the Lamp Post' is slightly disappointing, despite the fact that the playing on this one is mostly very minimalistic and intelligent, it suffers from the same problem mentioned for track one - it becomes repetitive and directionless after the first quarter. 'Waster Soul' is too strange to be deemed exquisite, not a big fan of this song. The bonus track is an interesting cover of 'In the Dead of Night' by U.K. mixed up with one of Andy Tillison's electronic pieces, which are scattered all over The Tangent discography, as we know. A good album but not one that betters, for example, the fantastic 'Proxy'. The band get a little too distracted at times and go playing in no-man's land, which ultimately leads to several disposable instrumental moments, at least to my taste.

Nevertheless, when good, 'Songs From the Hard Shoulder' is really good! Its pessimistic tone, however, is not what some of us necessarily need to absorb all the time, and this is way too 'in-your-face' on tracks one and three.

Could easily end up being my album of the year this. And I'll start by saying that somehow, this is the first work from The Tangent / Andy Tillison I've actually listened to. Somehow.

At first I thought lyrically things were a bit too simplistic and mundane. But the longer you listen, the more it resonates. Songs from the Hard Shoulder is one of many recent albums that shines a light on life in the modern world, but it is different in that it does so by putting a positive spin on life during Covid (The Changes), and the feelings of alienation and exclusion (The Lady Tied to the Lamp Post). Neither sound too preachy, a common flaw of today's prog music, mainly due to the fact that Tillison regularly turns the spotlight on himself and his own mistakes. With the latter track, you can build up a strong mental image of what's going on, as the lyrics are very descriptive and "cinematic", but not so blunt that they just seem like a story put to music - still plenty of room for abstract and metaphor. Its the more sombre of the tracks, but as it is highly relatable and spins the story into one with a 'lesson' rather than just being miserable. In between those two lengthy tracks is another, The GPS Vultures, mainly instrumental and taking you on a journey through a fantastic blend of prog sub-genres, which are mixed together in some surprising and brilliant ways.

Highly recommend.

I have talked about The Tangent before, so I don't need to give them an introduction at this point. This album is their follow-up to 2017, highly political and poetic, The Slow Rust Of Forgotten Machinery. Up until that point, this band has been relatively playing it a bit safe with their Prog convictions, sometimes dipping their toes in other styles, but mostly stayed true to a more symphonic and jazzy style of prog rock. However, with Slow Rust, we got some experimentation with the lyricism. It was extremely politically charged, and where other albums have dived into politics, they had more talking points included, only using politics for their bigger epics. This lyrical experimentation led the band to a new understanding of what they wanted to create, and in this album, we have experimentation in sound and style.

This is probably their most jazzy album yet. Proxy, the titular first track on the album, is dripping with jazz influence on it. I am getting flavors of Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and even a tiny bit of Herbie Hancock, mixed with the band's retro Prog nature. You know they have that really fun experimental jazz to them on this song. It switches up a lot going from a more fusion sound to a funk jazz sound to stuff that is a little more soulful. I gotta say I love how things feel very fresh on this record. Past albums have been good, but everything felt sort of similar, but here we get stuff that shows off the band's progressive nature. I also really think that this being a 16-minute track allows the band to try new things, and where most bands might get lost and confused with no direction, here we can see that these boys have a knack for finding the style they want to find, most likely because they are all pretty substantial Prog musicians who've been in bands before. Overall this is great.

This whole new direction continues in The Melting Andalusian Skies. So where the last song had that sort of experimentation in their style, here we can see them taking some influence off of more well-known Prog bands such as Yes or King Crimson. This has a very Relayeresque sound to it, with a lot of more improv and classically focused music, but in a more tightly knit and stylized sound. I do think, however, that while this song is good, it is pretty weak all things considered. I do not find the whole style they have here to be all that original, and retro Prog isn't that original, to begin with, but here I feel like they are sort of ripping off bands from the past more than just taking influence from them. It's rather lukewarm in that regard. I cannot say it is a bad song, but whenever I hear it, I sort of just want to listen to Yes instead.

However, things do get better with A Case of Misplaced Optimism. This song is funky. Like really funky. It has that smooth foot-tapping beat with a nice bass line, and a cool piano in the back leading the song forward. It's very fun, and honestly, I do think The Tangent benefits heavily from jazz Prog more than they do with symphonic Prog. They can make great suites with very beautiful endings, but they feel very safe in terms of Prog standards. Here, we are getting styles of funk, jazz, R&B, and many more polyrhythmic music genres. This song is great, it just helps the band move forward in this journey of finding interesting ways of continuing their Prog sound.

The last track on the album, minus the two bonus tracks Supper's Off and Excerpt From Exo Oceans, The Adulthood Lie is the band's peak in their stylistic journey. This is them diving deep into not just jazz but a boatload of different types of mediums. I can hear distinct sounds of space rock, metal, experimental music, heck I think, with the drums and the melody played on the synths, I can even hear a little bit of inspiration from video game soundtracks. It feels like a track you'd hear from like a Sonic game, but obviously with a proggy flair. Honestly, I think this combination of styles works. This album feels like a journey through finding a new clear style, and their pinnacle being their last track, one filled with plenty of variations of music, really helps. You know I think The Tangent works best without the need of retreading old ground and judging from the albums afterward, Auto Reconnaissance and Songs From The Hard Shoulder, we got just that in terms of sound, quality, and styles.

I do think this album is great, not a masterpiece, but it's one that I highly encourage you to check out. I suggest that if you might not liked their previous efforts then this album is worth a try since it holds some of the most experimental, and deeply enriched music they have created so far. This is a very great record and one that I do appreciate in the long run.

Retro Progressive Rock is one of my favorite modern Prog staples. As someone who was born and lived in a modern age, I love my fair share of old music like Yes and Pink Floyd, but nothing hits me as well as that very same type of music revolutionized into a modern time period. It's still the same fun and whimsical sounding stuff you'd hear in the 70s, but definitely in a modern climate. It is apparent that there will be bands however that have a sort of a mixed discography, whether it be from newer or older fans of Progressive rock. One such band is The Tangent.

The Tangent is a fairly eclectic band that is very much inspired by some of the greats like Yes, Van Der Graaf Generator, and King Crimson, but they also have a pretty divisive album catalog. I have reviewed an album by them before, heck Songs From The Hard Shoulder was my very first album I heard from this band, so of course with an album I really liked I obviously had to check more of their stuff out. To me surprise their work is very interesting with some very technical and fun stuff mixed with some politics and worldviews that give me a sort of Pink Floyd like vibe to the songs with how their structured and how they are less about a rise and a climax and more about making longer songs to fully develop what they want their listeners to hear. So for no reason other than the fact I feel like it, I am reviewing another album by The Tangent, or EP as the band likes to call it even though it's 57 minutes so calling it an EP is kinda weird, but ok. Sure why not go ham.

The album begins with the 19 minute long track, Where Are They Now? This track definitely holds its own in terms of its stylization and progression. It has a layer of fun and free form jazz with a very good heaping of some expertly crafted technical skill. Things flow seamlessly from one point to the other so that everything feels smooth like butter. However with that being said, this is probably one of their weaker long songs since it never really screams out about anything of note, besides maybe gambling in the modern age, it comes off a little weak on the lyrics side of things, and the whole song never really made me want to hear it again, and again, and again like so many other epics have done for me. It is a perfectly fine song, but not one I'd go back on anytime soon.

Next up is Paroxetine 20mg, and this song takes a different approach into a more early Neo Prog-esque sound with a good deal of synths and a number of moments that make me feel as if I am going back in time to a period where the general senses thought Progressive Rock was dead. Added onto this change of sound is a good use of the band's signature sax playing skills, which was provided by Theo Travis of Soft Machine. This has such a joyful jazz fusion aspect to it that it makes for a unique and unparalleled sound. It also has some much better lyricism that is different from the last song since it doesn't feel like a totally nothing experience, but rather something a little more interesting about how much the modern day and age relies to heavily on traffic and how boring a traffic jam can be, showcasing a clear disdain for a more machinery driven world, which I find rather interesting. Overall a great song.

Next up is Perdu Dan Paris. If I had to give this song a descriptor, I'd probably say it is 'slow'. Now I am not saying it is slow in a bad sense, it is just that it takes its time before really revving its gears. It allows the song to really develop, to really showcase its softer, ballad-like approach rather than something like a fun jazz rock song like the previous tunes were. But while the instrumentation gets to develop, the lyricism feels a bit too'boomer like. The boomer mindset is sort of a problem in most music communities, and this goes for all ages. People sometimes really think that the old times were much better and that they wish to go back to the 'good old days' or that they are 'born in the wrong generation' and I think this song's lyrics represent that perfectly because it's basically saying that the old Paris was better than the one in the modern day, even though I bet you like 5 bucks that is not true. It's a little pretentious and a bit blinded by nostalgia. I am not saying you cannot look on the past fondly, but I rather look towards the future than be stuck in the past. Good song instrumentally, not so great lyrically.

That tangent (Heh) aside, we come into the next track on the album, The Company Car. This is like the last song where it starts off pretty slow but where it allows itself to really breathe and stretch, but to less of a ballad approach and more of a usual Prog rock song with some good old synths and keyboard playing. Like the last song though, it still has that same stuck in the past mentality, this time about phones instead of the past of a city. I already went off on how I dislike this. Again, a good song instrumentally, but not so good lyrically.

And lastly, The Canterbury Sequence Volume 2: Ethanol That Nail. As the name suggests, this is basically a tribute to Canterbury Scene bands. I hear a lot of Soft Machine and Caravan with that fusion-like playing mixed with some nicely done improvinization to really make this track shine a ton. It still retains the roots of The Tangent's sound, but does so in a way that it kinda crosses the feelings I have for the Canterbury Scene and The Tangent's music, which in this case is nothing but positivity, aside from a few hiccups. This is definitely a good closing for this album, even if it's a instrumental track, which I think from what I said about the lyrics to these songs, I'd definitely would probably prefer this over something with rather poor lyricism in my honest opinion.

This album is fairly good yet I do feel as though there is a huge unbalancing act with the song writing and the instrumentation that this album has. Only one song really interested me lyrically and the other I found no problems with was an instrumental track. This album has a lot of fun and interesting moments, but it is bogged down by half- assed and old man sounding lyricism. I recommend checking this out but check out other Tangent albums first so you can at least get a better grasp on what the album has going for it.