Welcome as always fellow progheads to the Closet Concert Arena. Autumn is starting her parade of color here in these parts, which may have influenced my thought process when it came to review time. I settled in with The Tangent this week, a colorful prog band if there ever was one. Band leader Andy Tillison has never been one to shy away from the spotlight, nor has he been known to desire all the attention in the room. He does, however present himself and his music in such a way as to demand it be taken on his terms.
The Tangent is prog music for today; insightful, well written, well performed, and unafraid of what the critics have to say. For me the music is shrewd, energizing, relevant, exciting, and perhaps a bit humorous. But enough banter, on to the music...
The opening number is called "Life On Hold." Instant energy races through the headphones; I am reminded of the opening of a Yes concert in their heyday. The upbeat tempo is a welcome burst of intensity--but I expect nothing less from Andy. The keyboards are the focus on this cut along with the vocals; The Tangent has transitioned perfectly from their previous album to this latest adventure.
Next song to be hit by the laser is "The Midas Touch." A more somber opening is short-lived as the tempo once again builds on its own energy. The canvas is splayed with bright hues that, while not blinding, do reflect that "Midas Touch." Top notes of Camel rise to the surface and perhaps a hint of Marillion, but The Tangent are definitely in a section of the prog garden all their own. This is a perfect song for the current state we're all in; there is a silver lining to the cloud hanging over the planet.
Liner Notes...Originating in Pately Bridge, North Yorkshire, UK, The Tangent are Andy Tillison on vocals and keyboards as well as the lyricist and composer for the band, Luke Machin on guitar, Jonas Reingold on bass, Theo Travis on sax and flute, and Steve Roberts on drums.
The Tangent have filled the prog garden with their prog stylings on 17 albums over the course of nearly two decades. They enjoy a very loyal fanbase and have earned a reputation--deservedly so--as a band unafraid to take on society and everything that entails while not not getting bogged down in the drudgery. With influences ranging from ELP to Return to Forever, this latest album is just one more unique offering from a band that refuses to be pigeon-holed or hog-tied to someone else's definition of what prog should be. The refreshingness is so damn invigorating...
Learn more about The Tangent and purchase their music at thetangent and insideoutmusic. You can follow the band on facebook and Twitter @thetangentmusic
I played the next song, "Jinxed in Jersey" several times simply because it's as smooth as a pair of silk pajamas. If you were looking for The Tangent's jazz fusion connection you just found it. Andy tells a story with a clever, somewhat wry sense of humor. The keyboards cruise through like a speed boat across a serene lake; this song is AOR with a zest of lime.
The cut below was chosen as an example of the wide range of acreage The Tangent occupies in the prog garden. "The Tower of Babel" is a nod to the excess of excess; the blind spot people have when it come to have vs. need. When Andy sings "you can treat me like piece of dirt...you can screw the system up, you know what to do, before the system screws you" he is just telling it like it is--although no one really wants to be on the receiving end of a jab like that. Andy can be as stinging as Warren Zevon and as eloquent as Dave Cousins with his lyrics...with a voice as soothing as Van Morrison on both counts.
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Once again fellow progheads we find ourselves at the end of another chapter here in the Concert Closet. The Tangent and bands like them are just what the prog garden needs right now; pertinent, on the cutting edge, not afraid to speak their minds. Andy put it best when he said, "I utterly refuse to accept that progressive rock music is some kind of museum piece. It is actually a living and breathing movement that has a past, a present, and above all, a future..."
This is what keeps me coming back to the prog garden every day--the desire by a band and/or artist who wants to be heard on their own terms and not forced to meet someone else's definition of what it is they do. Don't get me wrong; the glory days of King Crimson, Yes, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, Genesis,
et al. are worthy of all the praise heaped on them. But the prog world did not end--much to the chagrin of thousands--in 1975. It continues today and thankfully has evolved. Which, by definition, it was supposed to do.
So the search for all things prog continues on as the journey has no end...until next time...
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