Life In Digital were formed in 2016 by John Beagley and Robin Schell, and this is their second album together. Doing some research, it appears that Robin Schell was in the running to become singer for Yes at one point in the late Eighties, and if that is true it wouldn’t have surprised me as she is very similar in some way to Jon Anderson: I actually thought it was probably Jon Davison singing until I looked at the press release. I don’t know who played what on the album, but the result is something which is very synth-driven, and when the band say the album is inspired by 80’s Yes together with Buggles, I couldn’t have put it much better myself, although probably more to the latter than the former. The vocals are great, and the songs interesting, but there really is too much in the way of synthesisers, and the lack of proper drums is a real issue here. I would like to see these guys morph away from being just a duo and become more of a full band with less reliance on studio overdubbing and layering, using more real instruments.
I have seen some absolutely rave reviews for this album online, but for me this is interesting and enjoyable without ever stepping up to the next level. I enjoyed it, and I am sure any fans of the two aforementioned bands will get something from it, but there is not enough depth and solidity within this for me to say anything more positive about it. There are some string guitar lines and solos here and there, but not enough to be consistently powerful and driving. I haven’t heard the debut so don’t know if there has been any change between the two, but it will be interesting to see what the next one is like and if they have moved on, as then it could be very good indeed. 6/10 Kev Rowland
This is the first time I have come across Lobate Scarp, who released their debut (and to date only) album back in 2012, followed it up with a single in 2016, and are now back with as EP. The band is based around singer and keyboard player Adam Sears, while other stalwarts have been Andy Catt (bass, vocals) and drummer Mike Gerbrandt: it is also interesting to see the involvement of none other than Rich Mouser, the famed Spock’s Beard producer. There are three new songs on this 25-minute-long EP, plus a slightly shortened radio edit of the opening song “Nothing Wrong.” Aside from the core band, they also bring in many more musicians when the time is right, although not as many as on their debut when (including the members of the choir) they boast more than 50 people were involved.
This is a pleasant melodic rock with progressive tendencies here and there, but there are some interesting sections and approaches which made me think more of neo-prog, especially on the rambunctious chorus for “Nothing Wrong”. I was enjoying what I was hearing, without anything massively resonating if I am being honest. Then I came to the third song “Beautiful Light”, which is different from the others both in style and content. It soars, it is commercial, it contains more diversity and spread than the others, and I sat up, paid real interest, and wished there were more like this. Hopefully, this EP, after such a gap, shows that the band is more active again as I really want to hear a full album from these guys. 7/10 Kev Rowland
Outside In are a rare beast indeed, as not only are they a progressive rock band, but they are a progressive rock band from New Zealand! Our wonderful country has a geographical mass a little larger than the UK, but less than five million people live here, and while a third of that population can be found around Auckland, realistically there is an incredibly small market for both live work and recorded material. But there are some who cannot help themselves and just have to perform, whatever cost and hard work that entails. The band came together with a while back, releasing an EP as long ago as 2015, but there have been the usual issues with any new group and it is only fairly recently that the line-up stabilized around Mikey Brown (vocals and harmonies, lyrics, synthesizers, keyboards, guitar), Jonnie Barnard (guitars), Adam Tobeck (drums), Elliott Seung Il Park (bass) and Joe Park (guitar). Here is a band that are determined to do things their way, so even before they had an album deal they recorded a series of three videos that tell a story and should be watched in the correct order (to see what I mean take a trip over to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWIwBrxGaiovJ9_nG7-BaLSq96fJbfebg). They have since signed a deal with TeMatera Smith at AAA Records, and the result is ‘Karmatrain’.
The obvious musical influences are Porcupine Tree and Radiohead, although some have also been pointing towards the likes of A Perfect Circle or Karnivool. In many ways, the album revolves around the vocals, and Mikey Brown is one of the most exciting new male singers I have come across for a while, with the music swirling around so it all comes together. Just listen to the outro of “Mushrooms” to hear what I mean, where the vocals mingle, rise and swell. But the reason the vocals are allowed to shine is due to the music, which is always the perfect accompaniment, so guitars can be staccato in one place to provide some emphasis or they can be more in the background. There is not much space in the production, but somehow there is still a great deal of clarity and no muddiness in the sound, it is just that to get the correct effect it needs to be all-encompassing. When going through a collection of potential songs for the album, Mikey realized a few were lyrically influenced by a novel he had read while on holiday in Nice about ten years ago, Hermann Hesse’s ‘Siddhartha’. The themes being fairly universal he decided to incorporate more of the book’s influence into the writing process until eventually, it was obvious that this was becoming a concept album. The album has ended up with each of the 12 songs representing one of the 12 chapters from the book. Each song has a story that relates to that chapter but also has a parallel story from his own experiences. It just gradually became a more conceptual thing that provided a framework to pin ideas against.
I’ve sat and listened to the album back to back four times today, and each time not only do I get more from it but I am amazed that the music is so polished and finessed from a band that very few have come across before this. I had not, and I work in the same city! It was also self-produced by guitarist Jonnie Barnard (then mixed and mastered by Dave Rhodes), yet this sounds as if it could have come from a top studio. There are strong dynamics, shifts in tempo, and powerful performances from all the players. Listen to what is going on behind the lines and there are some simply stunning bass lines from Park while Tobeck is never settled and is constantly shifting the percussive approach. This means that some bars may be hi-hat/snare, others may just be cymbals, and he is putting in fills everywhere. Then on top of a complex foundation, the two guitarists mix and mingle.
This is crossover progressive rock for the 21st century, influenced by more recent acts than many within the scene, creating a sound that is looking both to the recent past and also for the future. Outside In, the prog band from the end of the world you have never heard of. Outside In. Karmatrain. Investigate them on YouTube, then get the album. 9/10 Kev Rowland
In 2015, after a gap of some sixteen years, Drifting Sun returned with their third album. Keyboard player Pat Sanders had decided it was time, and created a brand-new version of the band, with himself being the only person who had appeared on the two albums in the Nineties. Making up for lost time they have released four acclaimed albums since then, as well as a number of singles which have often included bonus songs which were not available on a physical CD and were only available as downloads. So, a decision was taken towards the end of 2019 to release a physical album (and download of course), containing 12 songs ranging from solo piano pieces to full-blown band numbers, plus some interesting demos and various outtakes. Full details of where each track originally appeared are included in a 6-panel Digipak along with a full-color 12-page booklet.
In my humble opinion Drifting Sun’s last album, ‘Planet Junkie’, is their best album to date and one of the few to get full marks from me, and I am sure many people have discovered the band because of that release and hopefully, they will be looking back through the catalog. But there are distinct and different areas of the band, and this collection only includes rarities from the time when Peter Falconer was singing with Drifting Sun, who appeared on the albums ‘Trip The Life Fantastic’. ‘Safe Asylum’ and ‘Twilight’. Having played this a lot now, one has to wonder just how so many of these songs did not make it onto a full album yet given their release rate they are already putting many other bands to shame. Yes, some of them are solo pieces, and to my ears, there is probably more piano than normal, but there are some real delights on here. It is a nice bookend to Falconer’s time with the band, as he is a wonderful singer, melodic and emotional, and while there have been a few line-up changes even during that short time, there is a restrained beauty as everyone comes together.
Musically it is often based on piano, with those lush vocals, and then the other guys coming in and out as the need arises. Sometimes their contribution to the music is by not taking part at all. Take for example “Atlantis” which originally featured on the “Remedy” single: this song is basically Peter and Pat who provides piano (plus there are some strings) and is simply stunning. Harmonies abound and I fall into the music headlong, immersing myself in the emotions. I really enjoyed the solo piano pieces such as “Bubble” – I could listen to a whole album of music like that (Pat – are you reading this?) – and although the album is slightly more fractured due to coming together from different musicians and time periods the overall result is something which is a delight from start to end. There are some gems on here to be discovered, and it is great they have not been “lost” in the world of digital downloads but are available in a physical form all in one place. More crossover to my ears these days then neo-prog, this is a rarities compilation worth discovering for the quality of the music and not just the scarcity of the material. 8/10 Kev Rowland
I am very used to being late to the party, especially with living at the end of the world, so I have only just come across this album which was released in 2012. It was the debut album from German band Effloresce, following on from a 3-track EP and according to their website, it was very well received at the time, even being voted best progressive metal album of 2012 by some. But their site has not been updated since 2016, although I have tracked down singer Nicki Weber and found a post from 2018 where she says the band will still do a second album, so there may be hope yet. Hope? Yep, I want to hear more from these guys as unlike many bands within the spectrum who either embrace metal so hard they forget the prog or vice versa, these guys have a strong grip on both sides of the spectrum moving along the scale as it suits them.
This means we can get numbers that are quite neo-prog in many ways, except often with more metallic drumming, and then we can go into full-on metallic-style prog with the band fully firing. Then at the front, there is Nicki, who often sings like an angel but can also growl when she needs to, immediately making me think of Angela Gossow. There are times when they remind me somewhat of Lacuna Coil, which did make me wonder if the album title is a tip of the hat to the 2002 album ‘Comalies’, and like them, they have a very diverse approach to the job at hand. The sound and production are superb, but one would expect nothing less seeing as how the mighty Dan Swanö mixed and mastered the release. It is polished, interesting throughout with plenty of movement and change in the overall approach, by a band who are skilled and a great singer. It never sounds like a debut by an unknown band but instead by one who has been around for years and is at the top of their game. Why they have not been picked up by a label such as Nuclear Blast is something of a surprise, and one can only hope the second album is still a possibility, as this is a band with a lot to offer. 8/10 Kev Rowland
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