Pattern-Seeking Animals "Prehensile Tales"

Hello once again fellow progheads and welcome back to the Concert Closet!  I trust you are all staying safe and practicing whatever form of social distancing keeps you COVID-19 free and sane all at the same time.  This week the search for all things prog stops in with Pattern-Seeking Animals 
to check out their second album "Prehensile Tales," recently released on Inside Out Music.

Under the headphones straightaway for an infusion of "Raining Hard in Heaven."  This song opens with a bass riff as smooth as meringue on Baked Alaska and just as rich; vocals come over the top while keyboards make their way into your consciousness.  The top notes veer farther from the band's Spock's Beard roots than their debut release; planting their own stake in the ground it seems.  I detect aromatics of The Strawbs and a touch of Camel in the air.  The keyboards seem to enjoy teasing your senses...this should be quite the refreshing week.

Next up is "Why Don't We Run."  The curtain rises and the listener is swept into a whirlwind of  ardor as the song leaps across origins, backgrounds, and emotions...you feel pulled back from one reality only to find yourself falling into another.  The music tastes of western, Asian, and flamenco roots; as if
Pattern-Seeking Animals jetted  across the prog garden in search of essential parts necessary to create a greater whole.  The top notes here, as with most of the album, are difficult to pin down.  There are the obvious whiffs of Spock's Beard, but Pattern-Seeking Animals are cutting themselves free of the umbilical cord as it were with this second release.

Liner Notes...John Boegehold, Ted Leonard, Dave Meros, and Jimmy Keegan returned to the studio for the band's second album.  However, they expanded their sound with the addition of violin, cello, flute, trumpet, saxophone, and pedal steel guitar. The band has really come together on this album and sound as though they've been playing together for years.  As with their debut release, everybody takes and shares the spotlight; neither the stage nor the recording studio is overcrowded with egos...which makes for a fantastic listening experience.

Last song in the queue this week is "Soon But Not Today."  The violins are breaking through on this one; the song opens as if darkness is giving way to a new dawn, a new day...a new hope.  The tempo picks up and the music takes you on an adventure similar to the one Alice took through the looking glass...nothing is as it seems and everything is yours for the taking.  The canvas is splattered with bright hues in no particular sequence or pattern accompanied by streaks of grey that bolster the entire trip.  Pattern-Seeking Animals cross many sections of the prog garden as they continue to forge their own unique identity.

Learn more about the band at their website PSA as well as facebook and Twitter @psanimals1.  Links to buy both of their albums are on the website.

The listening teaser this week is "Elegant Vampires."  The upbeat tempo is somewhat surprising but very much welcome.  Pattern-Seeking Animals land somewhere between U.K. and 10cc with this song.  Stretch out in the Concert Closet and enjoy...   


                    

And thus fellow progheads another week roaming the prog garden is in the rear view mirror.
Pattern-Seeking Animals has brought their own sound and style to the forefront with this album.  The music gets under your skin and inside your head, taking up full residency in your entire being.  Might as well go with the flow and ride it out; expanding your prog boundaries is never a bad thing.

Now off to the next adventure in the search for all things prog.  The journey continues; there is so much more to discover...until next time...