REVOLU$ION

Nemo is a contemporary Prog band from France whose newest album REVOLU$ION mixes neo-prog with heavy guitars (a pretty common formula these days.) Despite the fact that these "new prog" bands are categorized all over the map here, they share more with each other than the classic bands in their respective genres. Spock's Beard, Nemo, Magenta, and Porcupine Tree have more in common with each other than Marillion, Genesis, King Crimson, or Pink Floyd. The point being that REVOLU$ION fits comfortably alongside a large group of modern bands (Transatlantic and Frost* also come to mind), and fans of those groups are going to enjoy the album. But while Nemo explores this territory with reasonable skill and very strong emotional expression, they bring absolutely nothing new to the table.

Singer Jean Pierre Louveton has a pleasant voice and avoids contrived stylistic articulation. I feel like he genuinely feels his lyrics and the heart behind his vocals is strong. At the same time, his range and breadth aren't that wide, and his performances really don't rise above merely competent for me. Similarly, his skills as a guitarist don't pass what I'd consider the basic skill set of a professional player. He has some chops, but no more than every guitarist had in 1991. He does a reasonable David Gilmour and the guitars sound best when he's in this mode. His basic tone is pretty fuzzy and old-school and is one of the least polished aspects of the album. Like Riverside, the heaviness derives more from 80's and 90's sounds, more hard rock than heavy metal. Again, while the playing is extremely competent, there's absolutely nothing truly individual about it.

Unlike most of the newer retro-prog bands, the keys take a decided back seat to guitar on this album. Occasionally, the two instruments work together, but there are no "wow" keyboard moments that are usually one of the features of this style. Similarly, the rhythm section holds down the foundation well, but is never really featured. The compositions have the required amount of complexity, and aside from the new age, flute driven passage, the sound is pretty coherent throughout. There is a section of duet between lead guitar and bagpipes!!!?! that perks my ears a bit during the enormous epic track 7. Again, like many modern "epics" this is more of a collection of cool-sounding instrumental and vocal sections that could have easily been re-arranged into separate tracks.

This feels like a 3.5/5 album. A good album, with a little extra added for passionate delivery. Rounded down for lack of originality.

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