SPOCK'S BEARD

Spock's Beard's ninth album can be summed up in one word: uninspired. Not only could they not think of a proper title for the album, but it's just like the last two Morse-less albums, except this one is even longer. And what bothers me the most about it is that they put the two best songs the band has made since Morse left in the very beginning of the album. After experiencing something positive and building up my expectations during the first 14 minutes of this CD, I'm left with utter disappointment.

Really, the first two tracks are prime Spock's Beard. The rest of the album tailspins into an endless series of AOR tracks lacking inspiration and bordering on being totally monotonous. Remember the comparisons with a post-Gabriel Genesis? Well, Spock's Beard's parallel has already reached the 1983-1986 Genesis period. You get maybe 2-3 prog rock tracks (sometimes good, sometimes not), and the rest is radio friendly fodder any rock band could come up with (ballads and heavier stuff). What a waste of talent. You would think that after three albums of this, they'd realize that this isn't going to get them onto MTV or VH1 and at worst, alienate a large following of die-hard fans (admittedly only in the thousands, by that's big for a prog rock act nowadays).

Octane had some potential, but this self-titled album seems like a regression back to Feel Euphoria. The band may have matured, but is clearly lost on the wrong road. Two stars, for collectors and die-hard fans only. Very disappointing.