Label: Insideout Music
Release date: February 6, 2026
Production: Big Big Train
Album length: 65.45 min
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 10/10
When English prog rock champions Big Big Train went looking for inspiration for their latest concept album “Woodcut,” they headed to the Norwegian capital Oslo to see an exhibition by the famous painter Edvard Munch. Munch made plenty of woodcuts over his career. But when it came to shaping the album’s central theme, the band probably also wandered into a local forest for inspiration, which the legendary Ian Anderson would surely have given his blessing to. With Jethro Tull and their cult album “Songs From the Wood” (1977), he built what is probably still the most beautiful musical monument to the real and imaginary denizens of the woods. “Woodcut” probably won’t reach that kind of cult status, but Big Big Train have still made another excellent, truly flawless album, one that will delight above all fans of symphonic progressive rock with a romantic patina.
Maybe the biggest quirk of Big Big Train is that, despite an international lineup and plenty of changes over their colorful history (of the founding members, only bassist/keyboardist Greg Spawton is left), the lion’s share of the songs on “Woodcut” is (still) marked by that signature British melancholy with a touch of Victorian drama, a garnish of Anglo-Saxon romanticism and a pinch of folk elements, which was so typical of some of their older musical role models too, with Genesis leading the pack.
In the past, Big Big Train’s music has brought to life characters, animals, objects and landscapes that are so typically English, like a Spitfire pilot, a swan hunter, a brave captain, a butterfly curator, the former Brooklands racetrack, the legendary pigeon Winkie, the master architect James of Saint George and even traditional mulled cider, to name just a few. Of course the Italian singer/keyboardist Alberto Bravin, Swedish guitarist/keyboardist Rikard Sjöblom and American drummer Nick D’Virgilio have all brought some influences with them from their former bands, that is Premiata Forneria Marconi, Beardfish and Spock’s Beard, but on “Woodcut” Big Big Train remain an unmistakably English-sounding prog rock band.
The band’s new addition on “Woodcut” is trumpeter and percussionist Paul Mitchell, whose trumpet deepens their already traditionally rich symphonic arrangements even further. From the very first second of “Woodcut” it’s clear this is going to be another prog rock treat. With the masterfully arranged “Artist,” which contains all of their signature sonic elements, Big Big Train deliver the album’s first peak right away. The biggest difference between “Woodcut” and its predecessor “The Likes of Us” (2024, RockLine review) is that this time Big Big Train have written more shorter pieces, with only one running longer than seven minutes. There are a whopping 16 tracks in all, but that takes nothing away from their complexity and arranging brilliance. Quite the opposite, it feels like the band hasn’t been in such an experimental mood in a long time, which is best heard in the longer instrumental sections, where they occasionally let rip with solo antics.
Another quirk of the Big Big Train members, besides the fact that they all master more than one instrument, is that almost all of them are also very good singers, which has a major impact on the excellence of the multi-part harmonies. Bravin, who passed his baptism of fire on the previous album with flying colors and successfully replaced the unforgettable, tragically departed David Longdon, is occasionally joined by a vocal helper or two. That happens, for instance, on “The Sharpest Blade,” which is unusually dark and punchy by Big Big Train standards, with violinist Clare Lindley playing an important vocal role too. “Albion Press,” steeped in romance and nostalgia, with the trumpet shining there as well, is a pure masterpiece that all the longtime fans will love, and it will remind them of some of the band’s earlier, kindred classics. It isn’t the first song in their career to mention the old name for Great Britain (Albion), since their second album “English Boy Wonders” (1997) contained a piece called “Albion Perifide.” Thanks to its brilliant symphonic arrangements, especially the combination of strings and piano, and Bravin’s vocal romanticism, “Arcadia” also ranks among the best moments on “Woodcut.”
Vocal experimentation is the heart of “Warp And Weft,” whose harmonies bring to mind the legacy of the unforgettable Gentle Giant, and also D’Virgilio’s former comrades-in-arms Spock’s Beard. “Chimaera” is an almost traditional Big Big Train creation with lots of acoustic arrangements, at times almost sacred-sounding multi-part vocals and rich symphonic harmonies. On “Dead Point” the emotional expressiveness of Bravin’s singing gets plenty of room to shine, while lead keyboardist Oskar Holldorff proves himself with some seriously fun soloing.
“Light Without Heat” is a romantic, acoustic-leaning piece with mighty orchestral arrangements and the folk charm so typical of this band. In its first half, “Dreams in Black and White,” with its ‘decolored’ multi-part vocals and xylophone, again pulls a bit toward something from the ‘forge’ of the aforementioned Gentle Giant, but then it turns into an epic piece with a strong symphonic stamp.
On the complex instrumental “Cut and Run,” which features strong prog metal and jazz fusion elements, Big Big Train demonstrate once again that they can really ‘spice things up’ with punchy guitar passages and fierce bursts of drumming. The epic masterpiece “Counting Stars” will thrill all the longtime Big Big Train devotees, since it would fit in without a hitch on any of the past albums with Longdon, while on the closing “Last Stand” it’s Bravin who impresses most, proving once again with his distinctive vocal approach that he never intended to become a Longdon imitator, which is exactly as it should be.
Even though “Woodcut” only came out at the beginning of February, it can already be counted among the top contenders for the best prog rock album of 2026. Of course, with musicians of this caliber and in keeping with the tradition of most of the band’s previous albums, that’s no surprise at all. Big Big Train have worked their tails off to earn the status of one of the most exciting modern English prog rock bands, one that (former) members of some equally or even more internationally established musical ‘relatives’ want to play for today. Porcupine Tree are without a doubt the most important prog rock band of the modern era (roughly the last twenty-five years), though it would be even more accurate to say it’s really their boss Steven Wilson who is the ultimate icon of modern prog rock, while Big Big Train can be declared the most natural, sincere and consistent heirs to the legacy of the old English symphonic prog rock school.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Inkwell Black (00:56)
2. The Artist (07:16)
3. The Lie of the Land (02:55)
4. The Sharpest Blade (04:16)
5. Albion Press (05:46)
6. Arcadia (05:46)
7. Second Press (00:37)
8. Warp and Weft (03:45)
9. Chimaera (05:37)
10. Dead Point (05:28)
11. Light Without Heat (03:22)
12. Dreams in Black and White (02:34)
13. Cut and Run (06:19)
14. Hawthorn White (01:54)
15. Counting Stars (05:40)
16. Last Stand (03:34)
Lineup:
Alberto Bravin – lead vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, Moog, mellotron
Nick D’Virgilio – drums, percussion, keyboards, acoustic and 12-string guitars, backing vocals
Oskar Holldorff – piano, Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes electric pianos, Hammond organ, mellotron, synthesizers, backing vocals
Clare Lindley – violin, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Paul Mitchell – trumpet, piccolo trumpet, backing vocals
Rikard Sjöblom – six- and twelve-string guitars, Hammond organ, backing vocals
Gregory Spawton – bass guitar, bass pedals, 12-string acoustic guitar, mellotron, backing vocals
