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░ ██ ██ Artist: Argos ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: A Seasonal Affair █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2015 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-10-10 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Progressive Promotion Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ German band Argos have delivered four albums since █
█ forming out of a solo project begun by multi- █
█ instrumentalist Thomas Klarmann in 2008, and their █
█ latest `A Seasonal Affair' is a standout release █
█ in 2015. They present a mix of symphonic prog, █
█ 80's Neo Prog, New Wave elements, folk, jazz and █
█ even dark theatrical drama. Despite the Neo Prog █
█ tag, this is hardly some slavish recreation of the █
█ likes of Marillion, Genesis, I.Q, with many █
█ contemporary and modern elements worked in, and a █
█ strong emphasis is placed on Robert Gozon's █
█ distinctive voice, which occasionally calls to █
█ mind not only Peter Hammill and Fish, but the █
█ second Arena vocalist Paul Wrightson who featured █
█ on their `Pride' and `The Visitor' in a few █
█ moments as well. █
█ `Vanishing' makes for a mysterious opener, with █
█ Gozon's raspy croon, gothic piano trickles and a █
█ mix of twitchy programmed and Ulf jacob's █
█ skittering live drumming. A definite 80's poppier █
█ Neo Prog flavour permeates `Divergence' with its █
█ boisterous chorus chant that wouldn't have sounded █
█ out of place on those early Twelfth Night albums █
█ and no shortage of Moog soloing, and the `How did █
█ it come to this?' finale is lovely. `Silver and █
█ Gold' drifts into slinky grooving 80's New Wave █
█ pop with tasty scratchy Mellotron slices, the █
█ symphonic schizophrenia of `Lifeboats' channels █
█ both the vulnerability of Fish-era Marillion with █
█ an overwrought Hammill-esque wail, and the █
█ multi-part twelve minute suite `Not in This █
█ Picture' combines acoustic pastoral moods with Big █
█ Big Train-like soft harmonies and endless █
█ instrumental interplay. █
█ The title track `A Seasonal Affair' marries sombre █
█ piano and flute with romantic Camel-like █
█ guitar/synth bursts, a gothic crooned vocal and a █
█ dreamy `A Trick of the Tail'-era Genesis outro. █
█ `Forbidden City' is a tasteful lightly jazzy █
█ instrumental, glistening with electric piano, █
█ quirky synth trills and fluid drumming with █
█ murmuring bass weaving in and out, and just a few █
█ hints of the Canterbury sound bands in Thomas █
█ Klarmann's flute. Melancholic closer `Stormland' █
█ closes the album in gloomy fashion with spectral █
█ organ drones and a grand guitar solo from Rico █
█ Florczak filled with power and genuine emotion. █
█ But most special of all and deserving of mention █
█ all its own is the lovely ballad `Silent Corner'. █
█ A gorgeous mix of Thomas' drifting flute and █
█ restrained saxophone courtesy of United █
█ Progressive Fraternity musician Marek Arnold, █
█ delicate acoustic guitar and electric piano █
█ tiptoes, and the soothing chorus and harmonies █
█ throughout could have easily fit on Big Big █
█ Train's last few albums. It offers plenty of █
█ crossover appeal, and it easily one of the best █
█ melodic moments to appear on a prog album in 2015. █
█ The Tangent's Andy Tillison (who actually █
█ contributes some keyboards on this disk) rates █
█ this album very highly, and it's not hard to see █
█ why it would appeal to him. Like with The Tangent, █
█ Argos places a distinctive vocalist with great █
█ character in his voice front and centre in the █
█ music, with strong melodies, a wondrous mix of █
█ keyboard variety and brief jazzy diversions all █
█ coming together. `A Seasonal Affair' is a very █
█ subtle grower, and modern Neo albums don't come █
█ much finer than this, nor offer as much variety █
█ with the style as Argos do here. It's an album █
█ that has kind of flown a little under the radar █
█ and is in need of some more praise and attention, █
█ by a highly skilled band deserving of more █
█ acknowledgement. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Vanishing 3:39 ░
░ 2. Divergence 4:04 ░
░ 3. Silent Corner 6:32 ░
░ 4. Silver and Gold 4:26 ░
░ 5. Lifeboats 6:02 ░
░ 6. Not in This Picture 12:33 ░
░ 7. A seasonal Affair 4:18 ░
░ 8. Forbidden City 5:21 ░
░ 9. Stormland 6:21 ░
░ 10. Black Cat 5:18 ░
░ 11. Killer 3:39 ░
░ 62:13 ░
░ ▒ ▒
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