|
Strangefish
- Full Scale
Tracklist:
Shifting Sands And Turning Tides (10:08), Oceans Deep (11:19),
Listening To Ghosts (7:46), Take A Holiday (4:39), At First
Sight (11:38), Touch Sensitive (7:12), Wallflower (5:29),
Simple Life (9:05)
Tom's
Review
The
English city of Manchester is probably best known in recent
times (on a musical level) for the 'Madchester' indie scene
of the early 90's, and the 'Britpop' band Oasis. Its fair
to say that quality prog bands are not traditionally what
the city is renowned for, but that may be about to change
with the arrival on the scene of Strangefish's very encouraging
debut album.
Strangefish
have apparently been around in one form or another since 1989,
but it seems that the arrival of bassist/violinist Julian
Gregory in 2000 has proved the catalyst for the band to start
taking themselves more seriously, and develop into a force
to be reckoned with. Even by the standards of UK prog bands
Strangefish currently have a very low profile, but recent
championing by the Classic Rock Society (who were the first
to really notice and provide support for the likes of Mostly
Autumn and Karnataka) has given the band a much needed boost,
and three 'Best Of The Year' awards from the CRS (best new
band, vocalist and drummer) won't hurt their cause at all.
The
band's formula is probably best described as a touch of retro
prog a'la Spock's Beard and The Flower Kings;
a dash of neo-prog (there are shades of Marillion in
their early eighties incarnation) and a hefty dose of the
kind of reasonably heavy but melodic, guitar driven prog rock
that It Bites used to serve up. As often with descriptions
of a band's sound this is a fairly loose one, but it's fair
to say that you can hear the influence of all the above bands
quite clearly at various stages on the album.
Full
Scale kicks off in confident fashion with Shifting
Sands And Turning Tides, a lengthy track which is very
well arranged, maintains a convincing momentum throughout
and has a good balance of heavier sections and more melodic,
reflective ones - all traits which can be found throughout
the album. The overriding influence on this song is probably
It Bites; in particular, enigmatically named guitarist
"Bob" uses a guitar tone and produces some solo's
which could have come from Dunnery's guitar circa Once
Around The World. Musically this track also bears some
comparison with Rush in their nineties incarnation.
Singer Steve Taylor, meanwhile, instantly makes a positive
impression. He has a strong voice capable of carrying each
of these varied tunes - I'd probably describe it as more of
a general 'rock' voice than a typically 'prog' one, although
that very imaginative pronunciation rather peculiar of the
English prog style does creep in now and again (i.e. experiences
becomes Ex-spear-eeee-Ences!). Next track Oceans Deep
is a gem; it has a laidback, mellow and very positive feel
with a nice lilting central melody. The general vibe of the
song, and the middle section which sees some very bouncy melodies
come into play, reminded me of Spock's Beard in their
pomp - I could almost visualise Neal Morse tapping
out the main keyboard lines.
Listening
To Ghosts is the most consciously neo-prog sounding song;
from its atmospheric, haunting opening this develops into
a fine track that brings comparisons with IQ, or early
Marillion, particularly in Paul O'Neill's use of some
evocative keyboard sounds which recall those once used by
Mark Kelly.
If
these three tracks can be described as the pick of the bunch,
that's not disparaging the rest of the material. Both Wallflower
and Take A Holiday are comparatively short, straight-forward
songs with catchy choruses which nicely complement the more
epic tracks. Final track Simple Life, meanwhile, has
a very upbeat feel, and whilst could again be called an 'epic',
actually seems to take its influences more from Eighties American
pop-rock in both the instrumentation and Taylor's vocal delivery.
The
lyrics deserve a mention, as they are well written and have
a nice dash of humour, not something you find in every prog
album released. In particular I noticed that water, and in
particular the ocean, are often referenced, both directly
and as a metaphor; this, coupled with the positive feel the
album as a whole conveys, lead me to think that the album
would probably sound even better listened to on a summer's
day on a beach somewhere. Perhaps the main criticism you might
aim at the band is the fact that they haven't found their
true voice yet - much like fellow Brits Magenta. Also,
whilst in general the influences are fairly obvious rather
than overt, occasionally you do get the feeling you've heard
something before - such as the fade-out section of Touch
Sensitive, which bears more than a passing resemblance
to Marillion's Falling From The Moon. This criticism
is, in my mind far outweighed, however, by the high quality
of the songwriting, the excellent musicianship and the fact
that the album never drags and is thoroughly enjoyable from
beginning to end. For an album obviously recorded on a tight
budget, moreover, the sound quality and production are very
good - although I'd imagine that live, with a fuller sound,
the songs really gain an extra dimension.
Overall, this CD was a very pleasant surprise - an excellent
album which should give a welcome boost to the UK prog scene,
and is recommended to all prog fans, particularly those partial
to those of the band's I've referenced in the review.
Mark's
Review
Sticking
to the old adage that 'Fools Rush In', Strangefish have taken
their time in delivering their first album, fourteen years
to be precise! Originally formed in 1989, the first decade
or so were years of "regular rehearsals, lots of enthusiasm
and the occasional gig or two." The arrival of Julian
Gregory (bass and violin) at the start of the 21st century
prompted the beginning of a more professional and organised
outfit, one that would actually start recording and releasing
material, firstly with the Reeled In EP and now, finally,
with the album Full Scale. Hailing from the Manchester area
of the UK, the rest of the band comprises Steve Taylor (vocals),
the enigmatic Bob (lead guitar). Paul O'Neill (keyboards)
and Dave Whittaker (drums).
So
what have their years of rehearsals and writing come up with?
Well Full Scale is simply an accomplished debut album. Unlike
a lot of young progressive bands, Strangefish have not fallen
into the trap of thinking that the benchmark of a great prog
song is based on its length. Although, three of the songs
on the album exceed the ten-minute mark and the remainder
can hardly be classified as three-minute pop songs, the group
haven't fallen into the trap of simply extending their songs
by adding interminable and pointless solos. A prime example
is album opener Shifting Sands And Turning Tides. Although
ten minutes long, it positively zips past without overstaying
its welcome. Infused with various themes, the song is a powerful
start to the album and is very well balanced, demonstrating
the talents of all band members, who each give an exemplary
performance. To extend the fishing analogy, it certainly hooks
the listener and reels them in!
Continuing
with a second long track, Oceans Deep doesn't, to my
mind, flow as well as the opener, overuse of a cowbell (or
other percussive effect) in the initial section is a bit distracting
and the lyric doesn't seem to merge too well with the music.
Despite that, there are some nice guitar and keyboard parts
and some harmony vocal parts that I would have like to have
heard developed further. Listening To Ghosts features
a very melodic guitar part wrapped up in a very catchy hook,
although the overly dramatic keyboards effects at the start
and end of the song do seem to be somewhat superfluous. In
contrast, Take A Holiday is very, for want of a better
term, punk-prog. An energetic, up-beat and biting song which
raises the energy level and even throws in a little humour.
From the shortest track to the longest, At First Sight.
Starting as a seemingly sensitive ballad, with dominant keyboards
and vocals, things are beefed up with an increase in tempo
and the arrival of the guitar. At about the 4:30 mark a totally
different song seems to take over, riffing guitars and an
overall much heavier sound. The transition is far from subtle
but effective in its own way. A couple of minutes further
along and the pattern is repeated, another keyboards and vocals
section followed by heavier guitars (and an impressive solo
to boot) before things finally quieten down as we head for
the conclusion which is an effective mirror image of the opening.
A fairly unusual track but one that I think will only impress
more on repeated hearings.
Touch
Sensitive fairly plods along in a quite uninspired way
for the first three minutes and then, in what is becoming
something of a Strangefish style, is taken over by a guitar
solo (overlaid with some effective vocalising) ending with
a more melodic component. I have to say this was probably
my least favourite track on the album, the spoken vocals before
and after the guitar solo were rather incongruous, the beginning
was rather dull and the end was too nondescript. Altogether
better was Wallflower which once again has an angrier
feel to it. The band certainly seem to perform better on the
shorter, more aggressive, tracks as this, and the earlier
Take A Holiday, are the two that are the most immediately
enjoyable pieces. One possible reason for this is that Steve
Taylor's voice is more suited to the powerful rather than
the passionate, somehow he doesn't sound as convincing on
the slower material. Simple Life, with its initial
reggae-ish groove, jazzy guitar solo and relatively simple
structure is a bit of a disappointing way to end the album,
the harmony vocals are not all that convincing and, unlike
the other longer tracks, the one tends to drag a bit, particularly
over the first six minutes. Saving grace is the final, mainly
instrumental, section where Bob proves again that he is a
guitarist to watch out for.
Strangefish
are unlikely to be hailed as the saviours of British progressive
rock on the basis of this album (despite what the Classic
Rock Society think). Full Scale is a solid release that is
worthy of congratulations but if the band want to really make
their mark they have to up the ante for their second release,
due, hopefully, sometime before 2017!
Conclusions:
Tom
De Val: 8.5 out of 10
Mark
Hughes : 7 out of 10
|
