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░ ██ ██ Artist: Lonely Robot ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Please Come Home █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2015 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-06-28 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Inside Out Music ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Lonely Robot is not a band so much as a project, a █
█ project conceived and helmed by veteran guitarist █
█ and singer/songwriter John Mitchell. Mitchell is █
█ probably best known these days as long serving █
█ guitarist for British progressive rockers Arena █
█ and for replacing previous front man Francis █
█ Dunnery in much-loved 1980s progressive rock █
█ legends It Bites, who returned to active duty in █
█ recent years following a lengthy hiatus. Mitchell █
█ has also enjoyed time as a collaborator in █
█ progressive rock supergroups Frost* and Kino, and █
█ has made numerous guest appearances with other █
█ bands, notably the Milton Keynes-based Touchstone, █
█ who he has also produced. In short, Mitchell is a █
█ bit of a renaissance man, equally at home on both █
█ sides of the studio wall and with a sizeable list █
█ of credits as a songwriter, producer and █
█ performer. █
█ In some ways, this, the first record under the █
█ Lonely Robot moniker, could be considered his █
█ first truly solo work, although he was the driving █
█ force behind another band, The Urbane, who made █
█ two well regarded albums (1999Æs Neon and 2003Æs █
█ Glitter). Even with this latest project, though, █
█ Mitchell has chosen to use a project name rather █
█ than his own, and whilst he is the sole writer █
█ here, the record features a veritable cornucopia █
█ of guest musicians. The uncharitable might be █
█ forgiven for thinking that this may be indicative █
█ of some lack of confidence; the more generous, █
█ that this is reflective of humility or a █
█ refreshing lack of ego. One listen to the album, █
█ however, utterly disproves the former assumption, █
█ and whilst it may be entertaining at first to play █
█ æspot the guest musicianÆ (MarillionÆs Steve █
█ Hogarth, for instance, makes several appearances █
█ but may be harder to spot than you think, given █
█ that he plays piano as much as he sings backing █
█ vocals), for the most part you will soon forget █
█ about the stunt casting. █
█ As befits many a progressive rock project, Please █
█ Come Home comes with its own conceptual thread. It █
█ takes the æancient astronautsÆ ideas of writers █
█ such as Erich von DΣniken and posits that our █
█ ancestors, rather than receiving visiting aliens █
█ as gods, were actually transplanted aliens █
█ themselves, explaining the comparatively advanced █
█ knowledge some of our ancestors possessed related █
█ to astronomy, science and architecture. Mitchell █
█ uses this theory as a jumping off point for a █
█ succession of reflections on our development as a █
█ species, the human condition and the personal █
█ struggles we face as we look to the future and our █
█ exploration of the cosmos. Nothing too broad and █
█ ambitious, thenà █
█ Happily, Mitchell possesses far too strong a █
█ melodic sense and knack for drama to allow the █
█ scope of the project to overwhelm him. In all of █
█ his prior projects, he has demonstrated a keen █
█ sense of light and shade and a real skill in █
█ crafting memorable melody lines; his mastery of █
█ both disciplines allows him to straddle the █
█ usually mutually antagonistic territories of pop █
█ and progressive rock in a way that will delight █
█ adherents of both. █
█ █
█ The album kicks off with æAirlockÆ, a moody █
█ introductory instrumental that opens with icy █
█ piano and a low, menacing drone, before exploding █
█ into a shower of thunderous drums and MitchellÆs █
█ trademark soaring lead guitar lines. In some ways █
█ this opening salvo is reminiscent of the start of █
█ Sound Of ContactÆs Dimensionaut, which, given the █
█ spacefaring imagery involved, isnÆt difficult to █
█ understand. Mitchell is a phenomenal guitarist û █
█ his guitar lines are effortlessly melodic and work █
█ beautifully to build and release tension through █
█ the track. The track builds into a crunching riff █
█ before crashing to a halt, giving way to the more █
█ anthemic æGod Vs ManÆ. This second track is built █
█ around a heavy rock riff worthy of Audioslave, its █
█ light, spacey verses interspersed with doomy, █
█ crushing choruses. Mitchell sings for the first █
█ time on the album here; for those who havenÆt █
█ heard latter-day It Bites or MitchellÆs earlier █
█ work with The Urbane, it may come as a surprise █
█ that he is a very capable vocalist, his gritty █
█ voice recalling the likes of Ray Wilson and █
█ latter-day Peter Gabriel. █
█ Third track æThe Boy In The RadioÆ is perhaps more █
█ typical of the album as a whole; nicely voiced by █
█ Go WestÆs Peter Cox in the first of several more █
█ obvious guest appearances, itÆs a propulsive, █
█ anthemic number that displays MitchellÆs finely █
█ honed talent for broad melodic lines and an █
█ anthemic chorus. This is followed by æWhy Do We █
█ Stay?Æ, which sees a switch to a more reflective █
█ mood, as Mitchell and ex-Mostly Autumn vocalist █
█ Heather Findlay duet effectively on a song of █
█ loneliness and regret, Mitchell serving up a █
█ lovely, languid and emotive mid-song solo, itÆs █
█ tragic beauty unaffected by its brevity. █
█ Perhaps the proggiest cut here is æLonely RobotÆ █
█ itself, an 8-minute mini-masterpiece that manages █
█ to somehow consolidate the various disparate █
█ elements of the album into a single cohesive █
█ statement. It has a huge, anthemic chorus of the █
█ type that Mitchell writes so well, but it also █
█ crams in some nifty soloing (Frost* aficionados █
█ will delight in keyboardist Jem GodfreyÆs █
█ unmistakable guest appearance), some spoken word █
█ narration from actor Lee Ingleby û employed █
█ throughout the album in a way that helps tie the █
█ disparate strands of the narrative together û and █
█ a gloriously effective light-and-shade interlude █
█ where floating celestial melodies are repeatedly █
█ steamrollered by a lurching metallic riff before █
█ percolating back to the surface once again. ItÆs █
█ sturdy, earthbound progressive rock, but shot █
█ through with a soaring gift for melody that makes █
█ it naggingly memorable; an instant ear-worm. ItÆs █
█ this seeming dichotomy that typifies MitchellÆs █
█ work on the album, and gives a lie to the █
█ oft-expressed idea that progressive rock has to be █
█ ædifficultÆ, or it somehow is not authentic. The █
█ moment as the fists-in-the-air chorus of this █
█ track accelerates towards the horizon is one of █
█ the most joyous and irresistably memorable musical █
█ moments on what is clearly by now a finely wrought █
█ and wonderfully imaginative album. █
█ æA Godless SeaÆ dials the up-and-at-Æem momentum █
█ down to a steady canter. A mid-paced song built █
█ around a simple cycling keyboard line, itÆs █
█ magically enlivened by MitchellÆs decidedly █
█ Gilmour-esque guitar, that weaves around the █
█ melody before delivering a beautifully expressive █
█ and suitably cosmic solo that will have Floyd fans █
█ levitating with delight. That its spacey splendour █
█ is followed by the engaging and instantly █
█ addictive æOublietteÆ is a masterstroke. █
█ æOublietteÆ features another guest in the shape of █
█ TouchstoneÆs vocalist Kim Seviour. Seviour and █
█ Mitchell are a perfect pairing, playing off each █
█ otherÆs vocal lines with an infectious delight, █
█ and the song features another fabulously memorable █
█ chorus û Mitchell clearly has a real gift for this █
█ sort of thing. Seviour sings in a slightly lower █
█ register than is typical of her work Touchstone, █
█ but it works incredibly well. Touching and █
█ alluring, itÆs yet another highlight on an album █
█ already heavily loaded with them. Even this song █
█ flirts with the progressive rock tendencies █
█ explored elsewhere, as what is essentially a █
█ lavishly produced pop/rock hybrid goes off on a █
█ tangent for an extended bridge section with █
█ numerous stops and starts that build further █
█ tension before a triumphant final chorus. It █
█ sounds like it could be a hit single. In another █
█ universe, it might already be. █
█ æConstuct/ObstructÆ is musically one of the █
█ simplest tracks on offer here, built around a █
█ simple repeating figure that varies little over █
█ its five minutes plus length; yet somehow Mitchell █
█ manages to ensure that you donÆt even notice this, █
█ as itÆs narrative verses are barged out of the way █
█ by a breathless, energised chorus that floors the █
█ musical accelerator pedal. When the songs drops █
█ quite abruptly out of the rhythm halfway through, █
█ MitchellÆs effortlessly kinetic guitar picks the █
█ listener up and carries them along before dropping █
█ them back onto the track to be swept up in █
█ proceedings again. ItÆs not a new trick, but █
█ Mitchell carries it off better than most. █
█ æAre We Copies?Æ builds on a steadily climbing █
█ rhythm to deliver a blustering rocker that builds █
█ from the simmering tension of the verses into an █
█ explosive technicolor chorus. The last three █
█ minutes are dominated by a crunching riff, shot █
█ through with MitchellÆs dazzling lead guitar work █
█ that drops away to near silence, allowing Ingleby █
█ to deliver further narration, before exploding █
█ into life once more. █
█ æHumans BeingÆ returns to the mellower vibe of █
█ æWhy do We Stay?Æ, although the mood here is more █
█ introspective. A lilting ballad, it features one █
█ of MitchellÆs most effective lead vocals on the █
█ whole album and a truly wonderful guest guitar █
█ solo from none other than Nik Kershaw. It provides █
█ a real old fashioned lighters-aloft moment at the █
█ close of the album, a gloriously widescreen █
█ display of catharsis as endearing and effortlessly █
█ emotive as it may be predictable. A fine lyric is █
█ just the cherry on the cake: indeed, one of the █
█ things that sets this album apart from its peers █
█ are MitchellÆs lyrics, which craftily interweave █
█ themes and concepts to intriguing effect. In the █
█ grand tradition of progressive rock, thereÆs more █
█ going on here than is immediately apparent, and █
█ some of the pleasure to be gained is in the █
█ continued exploration of MitchellÆs ideas. Whilst █
█ die-hard prog bores may sneer at the commercial █
█ feel of MitchellÆs record, appearances may be █
█ deceptive: this is not a slight or simple album. █
█ The last word is left to æThe Red BalloonÆ. █
█ Utterly at odds with the rest of the album in term █
█ of mood, this sparse piano/vocal duet is more of █
█ an epilogue than an integral part of the album, █
█ but in its highly emotive simplicity it acts very █
█ effectively as a coda to æHumans BeingÆ and to the █
█ album as a whole. The effect is decidedly █
█ Gabriel-esque. Close your eyes and it could almost █
█ beà █
█ ItÆs very hard not to be hugely impressed with █
█ what Mitchell has achieved with Please Come Home, █
█ especially given its relatively brief gestation █
█ period. Whilst MitchellÆs work with a variety of █
█ acts may have earned him notoriety and respect, in █
█ some ways this is a first glimpse of the man █
█ behind the curtain, of just what John Mitchell █
█ sounds like away from the constraints of whichever █
█ band he is working with at any given time. █
█ Ungoverned by such limitations, Please Come Home █
█ is the sound of Mitchell reaching for the stars. █
█ Simply put, this is his finest work and a █
█ tremendous showcase for a musician who not only █
█ has something to say but knows exactly how to say █
█ it. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Airlock 3:53 ░
░ 2. God vs Man 5:40 ░
░ 3. The Boy in the Radio 4:49 ░
░ 4. Why do We Stay? 5:10 ░
░ 5. Lonely Robot 8:07 ░
░ 6. A Godless Sea 5:26 ░
░ 7. Oubliette 5:19 ░
░ 8. Construct/Obstruct 5:46 ░
░ 9. Are We Copies? 6:17 ░
░ 10. Humans Being 5:36 ░
░ 11. The Red Balloon 2:01 ░
░ 12. Human Beings (Ambient Mix) 5:28 ░
░ 13. Why do We Stay? (Piano Mix) 5:14 ░
░ 14. A Godless Sea (Ocean Mix) 5:28 ░
░ 74:14 ░
░ ▒ ▒
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