Label: White Star Records
Release date: 20. 11. 2020
Production: Kepler Ten
Album length: 64.20 min
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
Kepler 10, once known as KOI-72, is a Sun-like star in the constellation Draco, some 608 light-years from Earth. It’s a solar system with two confirmed planets so far (Kepler 10b and Kepler 10c), while scientists have been on the trail of a third, Kepler 10d, since 2017.
A fitting intro to a fresh prog rock story? One about a relatively young band called Kepler Ten. They’re a British progressive rock trio who, funnily enough, started out as a band dedicated to playing the music of Canadian prog giants Rush. The band wouldn’t be of any interest at all if it weren’t something special. You’ve obviously figured out already that they occasionally recall Rush, but those occasional echoes are downright lovely.
Let’s take it from the top. Kepler Ten, who put out their debut studio album “Delta-V” in February 2017, have gone through a transformation over the past three years, firming up their sound and style. In a trio of drums, guitar and bass/vocals, a change of guitarist can leave a fateful mark on the band’s future evolution. And that’s exactly what happened. Ritchie Cahill has been replaced on the new album by Alistair Bell. This guitar virtuoso – a big fan of Eric Johnson, among other things – reaches for the “seven-string paddle” in a very current, modern way. The development of the technically complex display of guitar wizardry has leapt forward on “A New Kind of Sideways” compared to its predecessor “Delta-V”. By picking a new guitarist, Kepler Ten haven’t sacrificed an ounce of musical vision. Instead, with “A New Kind of Sideways” they’ve upgraded the quality and expressive level at every turn of an already bold and, above all, high-quality debut that hinted at this band’s huge potential for growth.
Kepler Ten are led by seasoned bassist and vocalist James Durand and drummer and percussionist Steve Hales. Both also contribute keyboards. They’re also the main composers and arrangers. The bass playing style, as well as the drumming, already reflects a great fondness for the character and work of Rush. The rattling, distinctly bright-toned bass lines that often dominate the arrangements, certain drum fills and transitions, and, interestingly, even the timbre of James Durand’s voice deepen the feeling that Kepler Ten are a band that gets automatically pulled toward Rush every now and then. But these associations are more endearing than anything else, because this isn’t copying, just a noticeable inspiration that colors the expressive picture of the band’s artistic profile. Since Kepler Ten are Brits, and since neither Durand nor Hales is a “swotty geek” but rather a hardened old-school cat, the vibe leans strongly – especially thanks to the keyboards and some synth-sound pastels – toward the achievements of British neo-prog, which means fans of IQ, Pendragon, Pallas and Arena too will quickly take this band to heart …
Still, Kepler Ten have managed to develop all of this into a trail of their own, one that’s recognizable and distinctive and, compared to the debut “Delta-V”, shows a marked evolutionary leap on the new release. That goes for the sound production and the tightness of the arrangements, as well as the far higher progressive-complexity ambition of the record, now embodied in the band’s considerably greater compositional aspirations. The band has stretched out and loosened up the arrangements a bit, which gets them an even bigger payoff on the progressive rock front. Along the way, they’ve kept a close eye on keeping the record’s intense musical side alive. That’s guaranteed by incredibly striking and gripping chorus melodies. The production is organic and alive, giving you that feeling of a live performance, even though of course it isn’t one. Simply put, Alistair Bell is technically far more accomplished than his guitar predecessor. This shows most of all in the guitarist’s skill at fitting brilliantly into individual compositional arrangements, which strengthens the home-grown artistic image not just of this record but, as a result, of the band’s refreshed character as a whole. Probably the best example of the great chemistry between the three musicians is the album’s title track. It has it all. Gripping musical appeal and an incredible exposition of progressive rock developments that simply thrills in its solutions and its sustained tightness. A hint: the title track takes as its compositional “starting point” a template not far from something that came off Rush’s album “Power Windows”.
“A New Kind of Sideways” is a semi-conceptual album dealing with philanthropic and humanist themes. The central message of the concept is the realization that “as human beings we are all equal to one another and therefore responsible for one another, regardless of age, race, gender and sexual orientation.” As Kepler Ten put it, it’s an “expression of frustration that we all bleed the same, yet we devote most of our lives to making each other’s lives miserable.” Although every song is a self-contained story with a beginning and an end, the opening track “Clarity” and the especially ambitious twenty-minute suite “One and the Same”, which closes the album in three parts, tie together this underlying thread of an otherwise fragile concept. Speaking of the latter, it’s easy to joke that it’s a kind of “2112 suite” in Kepler Ten’s career. Truth be told, it runs at least five minutes too long, thanks to some repetitions that aren’t necessary. Especially when it comes to the lead melody in the last part. Otherwise, the album is wonderfully calibrated, with developed theatrical drama and highly vibrant moods that speak to you with a lot of grip and give the album a potent sweep of dynamic unfolding. The excellent chorus melodies are a chapter of their own, if anything adding further intensity to this blend of pomp and theatrical drama.
The album carries a fitting and inventive balance between the musical parts and the parts where the band pays more attention to the instrumental progressive stirring-up of the compositions. With newly minted member and guitarist Alistair Bell, the trio has embodied excellent chemistry and, with “A New Kind of Sideways”, established a new nature for its artistic profile. That’s a foundation on which it can create and keep developing with all its ambition and creative fire. “A New Kind of Sideways” is a work with a distinctive, home-grown musical aura that, alongside fleeting echoes of Rush, serves up an element of unusualness, gratefully delivered by a guarantee of freshness. That freshness of musical unusualness will surely surprise more than one music gourmet. With their second studio album, Kepler Ten are thus signaling that they’re growing into a musical entity that’s worth taking seriously in the future.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Universal
2. Clarity
3. Falling Down
4. Weaver
5. These Few Words
6. A New Kind of Sideways
7. Icarus Eyes
8. One and the Same
Line-up:
James Durand – vocals, bass guitar, keyboards
Alistair Bell – guitar
Steve Hales – drums, percussion, keyboards
