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micky
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Topic: 3rd Rd. Moderns: Frequency v. Spirit of Eden Posted: August 15 2015 at 09:00 |
another heavyweight match... in this corner.. bah.. nice review though..
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Neo-Prog
4.12 | 714 ratings
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From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
FragileKings
Prog Reviewer
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"Frequency" is the most recent release by neo-proggers, IQ, and the first of their albums to
join the ranks of my CD collection. It was one of the purchases I made during what clearly
became a record-setting year for me in CD purchases and music exploration, largely due to
the influence of this very site. Now, as a person who desperately needs to diet, I have put
myself under a strict CD purchasing regime that I intend to adhere to lest the wife find out
and confiscate the bank book and seize my earnings. But on with the album review. It opens with "Frequency" and within the first couple of minutes the stage is set for what
promises to be a very good album. There's a great instrumental intro with Mellotrone,
synthesizer atmospherics, and heavy guitar. A recorded news report speaks about the first
atomic bomb drop: "The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base". I
wonder at the irony of the reporter trying to justify the dropping of an atomic bomb by saying
that Hiroshima was a military base, as if people should feel better not knowing about the
hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths and casualties. Did IQ pick up on this? The mood
goes gentle with electric piano as the vocals begin, but the heaviness returns later. The
vocals are smooth and very pleasing. There are some great keyboard sections and the
drumming intense. The song maintains an odd beat that is very hard to tap your foot to.
Overall, this song is already the first stand out track from the album. But more's to come. "Life Support" is slow and gentle with nice piano and synthesizer. It's not too long but good
music. You'll notice drummer Andy Edwards cannot be content maintaining a plain beat. He
keeps breaking out in shuffling fills in spite of the song's slow tempo. "Stronger than Friction" is a multipart song that changes pace and mood. There are gentle
parts and aggressive parts. The band makes good use of their instruments and sounds
and styles. The drumming again is remarkable. Fills, eruptions, quick shuffles. Like a drum
solo put to a song. "One Fatal Mistake" actually begins as "Friction" fades out but the track change occurs when
Friction has completely faded. Slow acoustic guitar, piano, and synth. Very pretty. It's a
relatively short song that segues into "Ryker Skies" with aethereal synth and a synth choir.
Clean electric guitar joins. There is a lot of praise for this song by some but good as it is, I
always lose concentration while this plays. It still is good as I listen to it now, making notes
for my review. Nice organ, electronic effects, heavy beat. Some outstanding moments. On
the strength of this song I would have bought the album, even though it is the least
memorable for me. "The Province" is quite likely the highlight of the album and the longest track at over 13
minutes, though I find it difficult to declare it the highlight with so much good music
elsewhere on the album. There's an acoustic beginning that evolves into a great epic with
many changes in tempo and mood. Intense heavy parts with Hammond organ offset the
acoustic sections. It could be my favourite track though others are also really enjoyable to
me. The album's closer is "Closer" (as in I am now closer to buying another IQ album than I ever
was). It's sweet sentimental music. Very pretty. The song goes through some changes
while keeping the mood. One the wife might appreciate. It's a bit like "One Fatal Mistake" but
still different. Very powerful music and vocals. The drumming here is often swift and exciting
as the song draws closer to its conclusion. Andy Edwards must have hot coals under his
seat. I really like this album. The three stand-out features for me are the music compositions and
use of guitars and keyboards in general, Peter Nicholls' wonderful vocals, and Andy
Edwards' ants-in-the-pants drumming. I have already lined up three more IQ albums for
purchase this year. If I want more than that I will have to cut some other ones off my 2013
list. I am glad to see the high rating for this album. One of my top ten purchases of 2012!
Not quite five stars but I am glad if other people give it a full rating. I would be happy with a
4.5 rating honestly.
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and in the far corner.... everything music should be.. could be... great review by another sorely missed old friend... LINUS!!!
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Crossover Prog
4.10 | 276 ratings
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From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
LinusW
Special Collaborator Italian Prog Specialist
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Grace, minimalistic clarity, surprising grandeur and impressionistic disintegration of structure
haunts the unique ambience of Spirit of Eden. A slow, dreamlike and meandering journey that
elegantly and deliberately has nestled its way to being a milestone of my musical life. There's an often present vibrating undertone of an aimless and rather bleak chamber orchestra, or
perhaps a rugged and world-weary street ensemble topped off with brass and wood-wind that moans and
probes underneath the main structures. Now and then it worms its way out onto the surface as
beautifully enriching timbre diversity, a veritable panorama of searching sounds. A choppy and
seemingly disconnected baseline of musical driftwood that somehow manages to assemble into an
organic, but modern dynamic framework. At times sounds appear, disappear and assemble almost
sub-consciously, reaching forceful climaxes in the otherwise tiptoeing and careful move forwards.
It's like raindrops on a window, finding their way down, occasionally combining into larger droplets
that increase in speed and volume only to dissolve in a dramatic splash in the end. Or perhaps it's
like seemingly careless brush-strokes that eventually resolve in a fleeting, but definite, picture. There are touches of jazz, blues, classical and slight, but non-abrasive, "avant" tendencies.
However, what dominates is this marked pop sensibility in the vocal melodies and main motifs of the
songs. You can still feel where Talk Talk were coming from. It might be a bit obtuse and slightly
cryptic on the surface, but still smoothly and emotionally accessible with enough room for a handful
of hooks along the way. So there's that, and an intimately fractured form of rather melodic and
expressive ambience, that makes its way through the vast and beautiful emptiness between the
instrumentation. There's so much room, so much pause for afterthought and introspection, that the
sudden outbursts of crashing, ringing or rumbling guitars and busily explosive percussion stand out
in their immensity. The drums usually present a simple and understated punchy beat whereupon vocalist Mark Hollis can
stroke his words carefully and up-close in a melancholy, but touching way. Comforting, soft,
textural and spaciously melodic organ and piano lift the weariness and subdued quietude into more
hopeful territories, sometimes accompanied by a few guitar strums. A fluttering and clear keyboard
fantasy suddenly shimmer discreetly in the background. The more outreaching, but still predominantly
tentative, sounds of the guitar gives the proceedings an earthier and more eager flair in their
stark, ringing clarity. It can make the music feel desolate at times, but busy and raucously
desperate when it joins in with a great deal of fire in the soaring crescendos. At times, you can
also find a simmering intensity creeping in, a more pulsing and energetic backdrop, but with
maintained clarity and disciplined energy. It's an irresistible combination of intimate, inviting emotional exploration and alternately
sweeping and cryptic musical gestures. Few albums put me right in the heart of it, but Spirit of
Eden does, by the power of its vulnerability. It's like you're standing right in its very centre,
completely enveloped, and astutely perceptive to every change. The usual defences just turn off.
Silence and space makes everything said and heard more acute and piercing. Very, very naked. One of my favourite albums 5 stars. |
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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zravkapt
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Joined: October 12 2010
Location: Canada
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Points: 6446
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 09:00 |
Tried to vote for talk Talk
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Magma America Great Make Again
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Disparate Times
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 12 2015
Location: Rust belt
Status: Offline
Points: 261
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 09:01 |
Got you covered
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chrijom
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 23 2010
Location: UK
Status: Offline
Points: 683
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 09:02 |
My goodness that's a difficult one... Needs weighty thinking...
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micky
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Joined: October 02 2005
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 09:02 |
zravkapt wrote:
Tried to vote for talk Talk |
and noted as always
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Nogbad_The_Bad
Forum & Site Admin Group
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl & Eclectic Team
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 09:19 |
Talk Talk
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Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on Progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-avant-jazzcore-happy-hour/
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micky
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Joined: October 02 2005
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 09:21 |
easy vote.. easiest non RPI vote of the whole damn tournament hah
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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LearsFool
Prog Reviewer
Joined: November 09 2014
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 8635
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 12:33 |
Spirit of Eden
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dr wu23
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
Status: Offline
Points: 20491
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 12:40 |
Those 2 albums are so different it's literally like comparing apples to oranges......I wish the Mickster would compare albums that have a similar genre style. IMHO that makes more sense than comparing ...say...The Monkees to Hendrix. Just saying.......
Oh....went with IQ since they need some love and that might be my favorite neo -prog thingie of all time. A better poll would have been IQ against Marillion...now that makes perfect sense.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
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Svetonio
Forum Senior Member
Joined: September 20 2010
Location: Serbia
Status: Offline
Points: 10213
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 12:54 |
Frequency
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rushfan4
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Joined: May 22 2007
Location: Michigan, U.S.
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 12:55 |
IQ
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Guldbamsen
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Joined: January 22 2009
Location: Magic Theatre
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Points: 23098
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 14:37 |
Love both but double talk for me. Hollis is one of a rare few who can pull off completely overemotional vocals. Something a fair few of the modern alternative acts could learn from imo *cough* Radiohead/Muse/Mew/Coldplay/Gazpacho/Anathema *cough*
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“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
- Douglas Adams
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Hercules
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 14 2007
Location: Near York UK
Status: Offline
Points: 7024
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 14:52 |
IQ without any doubt.
And it's not one of their very best.
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A TVR is not a car. It's a way of life.
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Wanorak
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 09 2006
Location: Canada
Status: Offline
Points: 4574
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 15:07 |
Both great, but I will go with Frequency.
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A GREAT YEAR FOR PROG!!!
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micky
Special Collaborator
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Joined: October 02 2005
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 46828
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Posted: August 15 2015 at 15:31 |
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The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
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Kazza3
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 29 2009
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 557
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Posted: August 16 2015 at 01:26 |
Spirit of Eden, though Frequency is great.
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Pastmaster
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 23 2015
Location: Spiderwood Farm
Status: Offline
Points: 1774
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Posted: August 16 2015 at 01:55 |
IQ
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octopus-4
Special Collaborator
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams
Joined: October 31 2006
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 13412
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Posted: August 16 2015 at 08:37 |
Frequency is the only IQ album that I really like, but it's a great one.
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Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half. My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com
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The Bearded Bard
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Joined: January 24 2012
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Points: 12859
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Posted: August 16 2015 at 13:50 |
Easily Spirit of Eden.
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aglasshouse
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Joined: August 27 2014
Location: riding the MOAB
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Points: 1505
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Posted: August 16 2015 at 13:54 |
High IQ IQ.
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http://fryingpanmedia.com
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