ISILDURS BANE & STEVE HOGARTH: COLOURS NOT FOUND IN NATURE

One would think that a project of the Swedish chamber-symphonic rock band Isildurs Bane with Marillion's frontman Steve Hogarth would get more attention in progressive circles. The music offered here deserves our full attention. I myself was drawn to this album because I loved the Isildurs Bane with Peter Hammill project 'In Amazonia' and learned to appreciate Steve Hogarth's vocals whilst recently listening to Marillion's 'F.E.A.R.' LP.

On this album the sound of Isildurs Bane is a mix of chamber music (great variety in wind and string instruments), world music (especially those violins), adult rock and symphonic rock. Some moments cast that acoustic beauty of Sigur Ros at their finest, whilst other moments remind us of the less electric compositions of Marillion in recent years. The arrangements are all filled with great musical detail, suprising sounds and original combinations of instruments. Steve Hogarth has written lyrics that enable him to perform in his most story-telling fashion, which suits the imaganitive music very well. His vocals stand out as particularly honest and 'in the room'. The result is a very listenable, yet complex album with a very adult feel to it. The songs are well-written; I guess they could have been performed with significantly less rich instrumentation without loosing their potency. My only complaint is that most songs tap in that same artistic / sensitive / emotional atmosphere. The final song 'Incandescent' brings a significant change in moods that could have been introduced earlier on in my opinion. Still a great high-quality album though!

I would recommend 'Colours Not Found in Nature' to all listeners with a slightly wider definition of progressive music. This could even be an interesting record for music fans in general.