Looking Glass Lantern

Welcome back to the journey fellow progheads!  As August redefines the "dog days," the sun continues to melt Mother Earth.  So to stay cool, I simply take the Concert Closet to another destination in the land known as the prog garden in the search for all things prog.  This week it seems a bit of time travel may have aided my search, as I find myself in the UK listening to the symphonic, hypnotic, and somewhat nostalgic sounds of Looking Glass Lantern.

Looking Glass Lantern is self-described as "Progressive rock with a nineteenth-century flavor." Knowing the UK is home to many a fantastic prog band, and combining that with my insatiable thirst for the new, different, and distinctive sounds that emerge from the prog garden, I am turning back the hands of time so as to delve deeper into the mystique that is Looking Glass Lantern...

Perhaps the curtain was lifted a bit with the image posted above; Looking Glass Lantern fuses classic prog with the essence and aura of Victorian England.  The resulting flavor is a twist on more than one tradition...

To open the prog buffet, I choose a full serving of the title cut from the first album, "A Tapestry of Tales."  The song opens in grand fashion; you feel yourself being drawn back to a different era...the intricate sounds interwoven with soft vocals. There are strong top notes of Alan Parsons Project and hints of early Genesis throughout this piece.  Looking Glass Lantern has captured a piece of the past here; there is an upbeat tempo wrapped around a narrative...quite the novel approach and extremely appealing...

Moving through the prog garden, I come across another interesting morsel, "A Scandal in Bohemia."
Hearing what appears to be a trend, I am immersed in another opening that peels the curtain back on a symphonic cornucopia. The drums sit just below the surface as keyboards and vocals throw colors at the canvas that meld together into something that would make Peter Max proud.  I pick up top notes of King Crimson's "Lizard" and perhaps a touch of Yes in their "Tormato" days...the music flows like raspberry coulis cascading gently down the sides of a cheesecake...yes please...

Liner Notes...Looking Glass Lantern is the creation of Graham Dunnington, who resides in the UK...a vague home address I grant you, but he nonetheless does his birthplace proud.  Graham put together two "concept" albums of a sort; both dealing with the life and adventures of Sherlock Holmes and his friend/sidekick, Dr. Watson.  While the Arthur Conan Doyle stories are well known and there have been several movies made, nothing quite like Graham's musical interpretation has previously pierced my auditory canals.

After performing with a prog band that is now defunct, the multi-instrumental Mr. Dunnington went on a solo bent under the Looking Glass Lantern banner, releasing "A Tapestry of Tales" in 2013 and "The Hound of the Baskervilles" the following year.  Setting up camp in the symphonic section of the prog garden, Graham has followed a trail blazed by the Alan Parsons Project with "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" in 1976...and while there are similarities, Looking Glass Lantern has wandered off the beaten path, taking the music to a more grandiose level.

My last serving from this ornate buffet is the title cut from "The Hound of the Baskervilles."  The opening is a bit dark and dreary; much like the story it reflects.  There is a sense of royalty flowing through the headphones on this piece; the keyboards lay on top of fine tuned drumming like cream in a milk bottle before homogenization buries it within.

Therein lies the intrigue; Looking Glass Lantern is a modern day throwback to days reflected best in mirrored chandeliers and claw foot furniture...everything seems so proper and majestic.  The harpsichord helps drive the point home, topped with vocals as fragile as a wine goblet.

Learn more about Looking Glass Lantern at Looking Glass Lantern...there you will find much to quell your curiosity.  You can also follow along, keep up with new releases, and hold an ear out for musings and such on Twitter @glass_lantern.  Looking Glass Lantern is available on Spotify, and Graham has set up a YouTube channel as well.  However; I encourage all my fellow progheads to show support for Looking Glass Lantern (and all prog bands) by purchasing their music.

The cut posted below--intended to pique your curiosity as well as whet your appetite-- is called "Six Pearls to Mary."  This song leaps through the headphones with proper thrust...intended to wake you for the "gentle" ride home.  The Victorian side of the music shines brightly on this piece...perhaps I should invest in a harpsichord...

                          


Well fellow progheads, I trust you enjoyed this week's futuristic walk through the past.  As summer begins to fade from the calendar, the sunsets can be striking--much like this stroll through a new section of the prog garden.  The biggest impression Looking Glass Lantern made for me is the connection between story and song.  Readers of Arthur Conan Doyle's works will notice the uncanny emotional  connection the written word has with the music.  More than simply bringing pages to life, Looking Glass Lantern paints with brush strokes that give the stories a pulse.

More surprises await I am quite certain, hiding in plain sight as the Concert Closet scours the planet in the search for all things prog.  As always, it is my pleasure and honor to bring to you my fellow progheads the new, different, distinct, undiscovered, and uncommon sounds that abound here in the prog garden.  So of course, the journey continues...until next week...