Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Spock's Beard
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2018
Length: 51:56
Rating: 5/5
Fans of the cult American prog-rock revivalists Spock’s Beard were hit out of the blue in October 2016 by the news that longtime drummer and occasional singer Jimmy Keegan was leaving the band. The remaining members of Spock’s Beard made the only logical move and invited original drummer (and later vocalist too) Nick D’Virgilio back into the fold. He gladly took on the role of guest musician on the new album »Noise Floor«. Nick, who became a member of English prog outfit Big Big Train after leaving Spock’s Beard, had already guested on the ‘best of’ album from the ‘Beard boys’, »The First Twenty Years« (2015), where he left his mark on the twenty-minute epic »Falling for Forever«, featuring every former and current Spock’s Beard member except original bassist John Ballard.
After the masterpiece »The Oblivion Particle« (2015), it was hard to imagine the ‘Beard boys’ could pull off another album at that level, but with »Noise Floor« they managed to blow past the fans’ wildest expectations and deliver yet another record that ranks among the prog-rock highlights of 2018. Even the opening track »To Breathe Another Day«, which draws plenty of parallels with the legendary Kansas, mostly thanks to the vocal kinship between Ted Leonard and Steve Walsh, already belongs among the Spock’s Beard evergreens.
Rich Mouser’s excellent production also did a lot for the greatness of »Noise Floor«. He’s been working with Spock’s Beard since roughly the time Leonard joined the band, and Leonard is in the best possible vocal form on »Noise Floor«, while keyboard wizard Ryo Okumoto, with his mostly symphonic-leaning creations on the keys, is as eclectic and playful as he’s been in ages. A mini strings-and-woodwinds orchestra joins the band on most tracks too, further enriching the symphonic arrangements of most of the pieces, which already comes through loud and clear on »What Becomes of Me«.
The triumphant symphonic prog-rock formula, with its heaps of melodic arrangements, superb multi-part harmonies and masterful soloing, which marked most of their past albums, stays unchanged, though now and then some experimental surprises pop up. »Somebody’s Home« packs a few daring moves, especially on Morse’s guitar, while the orchestral arrangements in the background sit in just the right harmony, so the whole thing comes off remarkably tasteful and epic. »Have We All Gone Crazy Yet«, partly thanks to its socially barbed lyrics, is among the highlights of »Noise Floor«, while the psychedelic »So This Is Life«, with its epic chorus, shares some kinship with Pink Floyd, especially in its vocal approach and guitar harmonies.
»One So Wise« dramatically builds up a tense atmosphere, while »Box of Spiders«, with its keyboard multi-harmonies and complex rhythmic inserts, is one of the more innovative experiments on »Noise Floor«. »On the epic closer of the ‘regular’ album, »Beginnings«, the ‘Beard boys’ have fun with their trademark use of vocal harmonies and craft yet another splendid song that will very soon be counted among their evergreens. The extra disc of bonus tracks is nothing to sneeze at either, since everything on it is at about the same quality level as the material on the first disc of »Noise Floor«, so it’s definitely worth a listen.
It probably won’t surprise many people following the modern prog-rock scene that Spock’s Beard have created yet another masterpiece with »Noise Floor«, which is also their most interesting achievement so far with Leonard on lead vocals. Besides the superb production, »Noise Floor« has all the songwriting and sonic elements that earned Spock’s Beard the title of the most important prog-rock band of the 1990s, while, with the help of the rich orchestral backing, it also brings some refreshing ideas that go a long way toward making them sound current as an experimental musical collective more than twenty years after their birth.
Line-up
Ted Leonard – vocals
Alan Morse – guitar, backing vocals
Ryo Okumoto – keyboards
Dave Meros – bass guitar, backing vocals
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Nick D’Virgilio – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Eric Gorfain – violin
Leah Katzh – viola
Richard Dodd – cello
David Robertson – English horn
Production
Rich Mouser and Alan Morse
Track list
CD1 – Noise Floor
1. To Breathe Another Day (5:38)
2. What Becomes Of Me (6:11)
3. Somebody’s Home (6:32)
4. Have We All Gone Crazy Yet (8:06)
5. So This Is Life (5:35)
6. One So Wise (6:57)
7. Box Of Spiders (5:28)
8. Beginnings (7:25)
CD2 – “Cutting Room Floor” EP
9. Days We’ll Remember (4:14)
10. Bulletproof (4:41)
11. Vault (4:39)
12. Armageddon Nervous (3:32)
