LONELY ROBOT

The great guitar work is very present, all over the place, as expected? particularly in songs like "Species in Transition", "Starlit Stardust", and "In Memoriam", but what really caught my attention were both his elegant and accesible songwriting abilities, and the warmth of his vocal style, a cross between Peter Gabriel and Seal? the music is very pop oriented and there's an obvious "look and feel" of a what a lonely robot would sound if singing his thoughts, sadness, and loneliness? at least to my ears?

Even though my favorite Pink Floyd music was recorded and released in the mid-late 70's, I've always been a fan of albums like The Division Bell and A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the melodic and less psychedelic Gilmour version, and this LR album sounds at times a lot like those PF records, so there's a lot of immediate and attractive flavors to its music. The opener song "Recalibrating" kicks things off in perhaps the fastest tempo of the whole record, and somehow reminds me of some passages from Day and Age (*Frost), cool song. The more melodic and catchy stuff can me found in songs like "Starlit Stardust", the title track "A Modern Life", and "Rain Kings", all sing-a-long tunes. The most interesting tracks, those where I find all the desired ingredients and my preferred mix of elements are "Digital God Machine" and "Duty of Care"? those two songs make my listening experience worthwhile? in sum, a solid output by a much loved guitarist and singer. Cheers!

Feelings are good represents a good album, where John Mitchell plays almost everything: guitars, keyboards, bass and sings, and the wonderful Craig Blundell on drums. The subject matter of this album is extremely personal and contains a well-crafted mixture of mid-tempo progressive rock pieces and some beautiful lighter rock ballads.

For me the highlights of the album are the two ballads "Crystalline," and "The Silent Life", both with deep lyrics and great piano accompaniment, "Life is a Sine Wave" with fantastic guitar performance and catchy chorus, and finally my favorite of the album "Armour for my heart". Four stars to Feelings are good by Lonely Robot an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection.

Apart from drums, John does everything on this album, which in many ways is comparable to the work of Devin Townsend except far more melodic and not nearly as dense. Both use walls of sound where the time is right, and produce massively complex music, but while Townsend is coming at it from an out and out metal approach, Mitchell is of course coming in from the progressive area. As one would expect, given his body of work, it is highly commercial and melodic with loads of hooks combined with string production and musicianship. It certainly never sounds as if it is basically a one-man band but far more as if it is a complete outfit who have honed their skills on the road. Although Mitchell is primarily a guitarist, he is also a reasonable keyboard player and the accompaniment he provides on "Crystalline" is sublime: it is a wonderful ballad with his vocals providing a needed edge. If ever there was a example of less is more then this is it, with the bass coming in and out, the same with the drums, and there is just so much space within this that one can relax inside with a smile.

Contrast that to "Life Is A Sine Wave", which has far more punch and vigour, although it again shifts and moves in different styles ? here is an anthem which is designed to get a crowd going in the live environment. Like his Arena bandmate Clive Nolan, Mitchell is able pigeonhole his ideas so different projects have different musical identities, yet in all cases one knows it will be enjoyable, melodic, well played and produced, and just plain fun. Yet another album which is well worth investigating.

The lonely robot has landed back on Earth and gives us the full picture on how he feels about his presence on it, his aspirations and disappointment, his most sincere thoughts and ideas. A really wonderful concept that John Mitchell manages to present flawlessly. I feel strongly that this is his most energetic and musically expressive solo album, definitely his best one in the whole Lonely Robot catalogue. Mixing progressive rock's challenging offering with his pop-sided and melancholic twist, John Mitchell captures a palette of feels in a really convincing and intriguing manner. Sometimes more minimalistic, acoustic, and mellow, and sometimes aggressive, raging, and visceral.

The highlights of the album are not few, these including opener 'Feelings Are Good', a tiny introduction piece that sets the mood, follow-up 'Into the Lo-Fi' which is quite accessible and playful, definitely catchiness was pursued and achieved successfully here. 'Spiders', that also happens to be one of the singles' is a great track with an explosive chorus. 'Life Is A Sine Wave', another single and another very memorable track, exploring the curious theme of happiness in life.

'Keeping People as Pets', the final single released before the launch of the album, is undoubtedly one of the best tracks on the album, and of the highlights of the Lonely Robot catalogue, a very strong early Peter Gabriel solo vibe, who I think has influenced the art rock direction of the record. Mesmerizing keyboard and crunchy guitars intertwine with John Mitchell's astonishing voice to provide one of the most durable choruses of the year, if I can call it that way. Finally, 'Army of One' is the 'heaviest' track on the album, and also happens to be my absolute favorite (it was hard to choose between it and 'Keeping People As Pets'). I must fall into repetition but this track is also one of the best that John Mitchell ever released, a real gem in the Lonely Robot discography. The rest of the songs are also good and deserve to be heard.

Overall, I think this is the best Lonely Robot album so far, a record that definitely deserves your full attention because it is quite revealing and really sheltering towards the listener, an album that was obviously done quickly but carefully crafted.

Not a skipper track, all move me to play it some more. "Spiders", is intense. Love the weird unsettling groove. "The Silent Life", a sparse mellow ballad, is another standout. So catchy I should be ashamed. This is pop at its finest. Finally, it's cool that one of the riffs from "Army of One" is lifted from "The Dead Club" by Kino. Solid album.

Mitchell relies on synth heavily on this album which is no surprise considering the theme of technology running throughout the entire Lonely Robot trilogy. However, synth is used more so on this album which makes it more ambient compared to his previous two albums. This is most evident on songs such as 'Icarus' and 'Authorship of Our Lives' in which the most lyrical melody lines are played on the synth. This gives a cool spacey sound to these songs as well as highlighting their catchiness. This is a feature of many of the songs on the album, they could be likened to a selection of catchy pop songs due to the typical verse-chorus structure and lyrical melody lines. However, these are better than just pop songs I feel; Mitchell doesn't conform to just one type of sound on the album. Heavier, more metal inspired songs such as 'Ancient Ascendant' and 'When Gravity Fails' greatly contrast the lighter and more pop infused songs. 'Ancient Ascendant', for example, focuses on a heavy riff that stays in 7/4 for most of the song - a real head banger. Similarly, 'When Gravity Fails' features changing time signatures, especially in the main starting riff that alternates between two time signatures. On other songs, Mitchell's intention is neither to be catchy nor heavy but simply to create a numbing ambience. 'Terminal Earth' and 'The Signal' successfully do this through lush keyboard sounds helped along by a heavy use of reverb and delay. At times it is so relaxing it becomes hypnotic yet Mitchell's fusion of Ayreon's metal influences and Coldplay's catchy pop influences certainly keeps the listener on their toes.

The high point of the album for me comes from the final two tracks. 'Inside This Machine' showcases Mitchell's expertise on the guitar through the most epic guitar solo that takes up the whole song. It really is such a cool three and half minutes, so much so that I always want the song to go on for longer. His mastery on the fretboard is evident throughout the album, with complex guitar solos featuring in most of the songs; his solos come closest to the virtuosity some prog fans may crave. We then arrive at the final concluding track of the whole trilogy simply named 'An Ending'. It juxtaposes the full and angry sound of 'Inside This Machine' as it strips everything back to just keyboards, piano and Mitchell's warm vocals. It is ever so gentle and full of emotion as the album ends with a desperate plea for the Lonely Robot to come home - inspiring lyrics for a generation that need to 'come home' to the real natural world. All in all, this album is an easy listen due to its fusion of pop with some prog elements. I admit I was sceptical after a first listen yet I have come to like it now that I know the message of John Mitchell's trilogy. It is certainly no masterpiece, but it is a good attempt at fusing many sounds together that effectively keep the listener entertained. Any prog fans that are sceptical of this album should definitely give it a chance because there are some really promising moments.

The opening "Terminal Earth" is just introductory soundscape with lush keyboards, feeling space-y, which is to be expected since John himself has stated his obsession about space related things numerous times. He even won a public speaking competition, regarding knowledge about Mars! Next, we have "Ancient Ascendant", starting off with heavy riff, accompained by Liam Holmes's ingrained beneath keyboards, adding tension. This is probably the heaviest song on the album. Mitchell delivers his almost-spoken quite vocals, progressively building suspense. His lyrics, yet again express his fascination of the human race evolution. There really are lines and themes that make us question our nature as human beings. The chorus features the riff from the beginning with rather nostalgic vocals. After a brief keyboard solo, we get to a reprise and abrupt ending.

"Icarus" feels way less dark and gloomy. It begins with synthwave-ish keyboards above somewhat electronic, oscillating beat. Pretty simple instrumental background leaving space for John's catchy, warm vocals. The chorus is uplifting with added guitar. There is a well-articulated guitar and keyboard unison bridge. This song will probably appeal to any pop fan.

"Under Stars" shows his deep, emotional voice. The musical accompanion is again realy light, soothing, not having any correlation with prog. In fact, Mitchell himself said he doesn't think his work is strictly "neo-prog". It is "catchy", drawing as much influence from pop as prog. The highlight here without a doubt is his heavenly solo, thankfully lasting for more than a minute.

The next song, "Authorship of Our Lives" is probably my favourite one from this album. It starts off with keyboard introduction, again pertaining more to electronic/pop music, rather than prog. Here, we have groovy rhythm beneath John's middle-pithed existential vocals. I say existential mainly for the lyrics here and the manner he is delivering his parts. We get to a more strenuous part, reminiscent of "Ancient Ascendant". The chorus instills that feeling of "rethinking" our lives. The track ends after a short, more punchy solo. This song single-handedly expresses nearly all nuances of the whole album.

"The signal" is just ambient soundscape with deep, spoken, robotic vocals. It feels pretty sad. "The Only Time I Don't Belong Is Now" starts with groovy drums and more pure rock guitar. The chorus is straight up pumped up alternative rock. "When Gravity Fails" is really dramatic with some compressed vocals. "How Bright Is The Sun?" is also one of the better songs here. It follows the formula of "Authorship of Our Lives" - soft vocals, catchy chorus with a good rhythm section, brief soaring solo. "Inside This Machine" is the only instrumental here, and it has almost an Ayreon feel to it. Quite relieving from the repetitive sound. "An Ending" has airy, subtle melody and sad, poignant vocals, as John excels in them.

"Under Stars" is nothing that mindblowing. Good musicianship, stellar production, but it follows a successful formula, and of course, that is not bad by all means. It might appear dull to some prog fans, and on the contrary - enjoyable for non-prog listeners. So, in that sense, John Mitchell did a great job by mixing prog with catchy pop-y melodies.

Lonely Robot is hardly some super prog-rock blowout, but instead of lengthy and histrionic showboating soloing, ambitious rock with a keen focus on intelligent words and smart song-writing is the order of the day here, with Mitchell choosing carefully when to unleash with sparingly used epic guitar journeys to raise the pulse and emotional heft of the tunes. Listeners who liked the modern discs of artists such as Sound of Contact and David Kerzner will find quite a similar sound here, and those with longer memories might even find it often calls to mind Mitchell's own one-off but fondly remembered Kino album from 2005 that saw him collaborating with former Porcupine Tree drummer Chris Maitland and Marillion's Pete Trewavas. `The Big Dream' is not a concept work as such, but one that carries over themes and ideas present on the first 2015 disc, and many of the songs here hold a reflective lyric that makes them easily relatable outside of the branching yet cryptic story.

After `Prologue - Deep Sleep's mysterious twinkling ambiance and melancholic spoken word opening, `Awakenings' kicks off the album proper with a gutsy rock tune of muscular grinding guitars and spectral synths in-between a rousing chorus that hides surreal dream-like words. John is joined by female backing singer Bonita McKinney (the duo sound great whenever they share vocals together throughout the disc) for `Sigma', another introspective rock tune with a killer chorus wedged between jangling guitars and slinking electronics, and listen out for the deceptively subtle reggae touches hidden here and there! The pair slow things down for the reflective power ballad `In Floral Green' with a dreamy chorus kissed by the gods of pop that trails off with a sweet falsetto vocal, and John lets rip briefly with a fiery heartfelt electric guitar solo that burns to the heavens.

`Everglow' pounds with louder guitar and synth bombast again for a tune that wouldn't have sounded out of place on those above mentioned Sound of Contact/David Kerzner releases with its wordy but catchy chorus. Then we hit one of the album highlights, `False Light', that will have listeners wondering if John snuck in former Lonely Robot guest and Steven Wilson Band cohort Nick Beggs due to the aggressive and relentlessly buoyant bass that leaps around one-time Pendragon (and also Steven Wilson Band) Craig Blundell's stormy busy drumming, and John's sparkling keyboards throughout are another standout feature.

`Symbolic' is a breathless and frantic up-tempo rocker where parts of the ringing guitars remind of proudly proggy British indie-poppers Mansun, and the optimistic `The Divine Art Of Being' could have easily fit on the early romantic Pendragon albums or the more streamlined `Nomzamo/Are You Sitting Comfortably?' era of I.Q. The eight-minute `The Big Dream' delivers the sole big purely instrumental moment of the disc, plodding with brooding heavy guitars with epic Pink Floyd-like soloing, grumbling staccato bass rumbles, ghostly Mellotron veils, gothic synth grandiosity and eclectic Steve Hackett-esque nightmare/dream-like interludes. `Hello World, Goodbye' is perhaps the closest the album comes to a classy Peter Gabriel- like duet ballad with Bonita returning but still finds time for some crisp guitar soloing from John, and `Epilogue - Sea Beams' is a final ambient reprise with pristine piano and light folky themes to close on.

(Not to be entirely ignored, the CD version comes with three bonus tracks. First up are charming acoustic versions of both `In Floral Green' and `The Divine Art Of Being', and while they don't alter the proper album versions too drastically, they instantly reveal what first-rate tunes they are at their core. Then there's a new spin on `Why Do We Stay' from the first Lonely Robot album sung by ex-Touchstone singer, the delightful Kim Seviour, who contributed to `Please Come Home' back in '15, and this new version reminds that she's a charming singer with a maturity well beyond her young years, and it moves the piece to something not far removed from a band like Mostly Autumn.)

Some will find that `The Big Dream' doesn't quite tick enough more obvious `prog' boxes often enough, but listeners who appreciate well-crafted, excitingly performed and interesting rock albums that crossover into prog will discover plenty to like here, and it's so easy to replay often and enjoy even on a surface level. The album seems to be slipping under the radar a little bit this year when it and John Mitchell in general deserve much more attention, but on the strength of `The Big Dream', looks like this Lonely Robot's going to be picking up plenty of extra friends in the near future!

Four stars.