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░ ██ ██ Artist: ESP 2.0 ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: 22 Layers of Sunlight █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2018 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2018-12-30 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Sunn Creative ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ I am a big fan of the original Tony Lowe & Mark █
█ Brzezicki ESP collaboration and after the launch █
█ of the debut album Invisible Din (2016) I █
█ pronounced that I wanted to hear more from them. A █
█ year and a half later 22 Layers of Sunlight is the █
█ product of a more settled outfit, with Lowe and █
█ Brzezicki being joined by Peter Coyle (ex-Lotus █
█ Eaters) on vocals plus bassist Pete Clark and █
█ keyboard player Richard Smith; ESP Invisible Din █
█ was more of a collective which though showcasing █
█ the talents of a variety of guest musicians █
█ including David Cross and David Jackson (whose █
█ collaboration CD Another Day coincidentally █
█ arrived on my doormat the same day as 22 Layers) █
█ and vocalist John Beagley, would have been a █
█ nightmare to organise as a touring entity. █
█ Coyle brought the concept with him, an original, █
█ cautionary tale of global tech-monopolies and AI █
█ that has increasing relevance in modern society. █
█ It was good to hear the instrumental layers are █
█ all still there, with the opening track God of █
█ Denial and its subsection The Code shifting █
█ seamlessly from angular post-rock guitar riffs to █
█ a couple of bars of lead synthesizer that wouldn't █
█ be out of place on a proggy Steven Wilson album █
█ and then to orchestrated soundscape, all neatly █
█ tied together by Coyle's clever lyrics. █
█ Algorithm contains some post-Hackett Genesis drum █
█ sounds and a dual vocal passage that strongly █
█ reminds me of Sigur Ros, then the title track has █
█ a cinematic orchestrated movement that gives way █
█ to a quality prog workout before reprising the █
█ chorus and main melody, though overlain with some █
█ gorgeous guitar soloing. █
█ Ride through Reality allows the players to let █
█ rip, it's an instrumental with a little █
█ vocalising, partly jazzy but also reminiscent of █
█ Lamb Lies Down-era Genesis instrumental blows, █
█ brief but not short on quality. Smiling Forever is █
█ another post-rock composition, laden with █
█ Mellotron string patches before it also goes █
█ full-Floyd with beautiful, tasteful slowburn █
█ guitar and after a vocal reprise blends into the █
█ laid-back Don't Let Go section of the longest █
█ track on the CD Butterfly Suite with flute █
█ Mellotron patches. Traveling Light is the █
█ excellent instrumental part of this track, harking █
█ back to the sounds and complex rhythms of Genesis █
█ circa 1973 with some great synthesizer and organ █
█ work and more tasteful guitar, which eventually █
█ resolves into a very Hackett-like, disturbing riff █
█ before Sensual Earth continues with similar █
█ sounding themes, alternating analogue synthesizer █
█ lines and expressive guitar. █
█ Gunshot Lips is a more modern-sounding track, its █
█ urgency dissolving into trance grooves before the █
█ driving beat resurfaces, though it retains the █
█ multiple layers of the more cinematic and prog █
█ pieces. When he introducing the song at a gig at █
█ the Half Moon in London, Coyle confessed he didn't █
█ know why it was called 'Gunshot Lips'. Final track █
█ Ballad of Broken Hearts is an orchestrated, █
█ melodic piece with a deceptively pop-y structure █
█ overlain with harmonic splashes of guitar and lead █
█ synth. It's quite optimistic sounding until about █
█ three quarters of the way through when it slows █
█ and becomes more proggy and reflective as Coyle █
█ sings 'is this all I can hope for?' █
█ You can tell it's an ESP album ? there are certain █
█ similarities in quality of voice between Coyle and █
█ his Invisible Din predecessor Beagley ? with the █
█ same degree of originality and a greater feeling █
█ of consistency on 22 Layers, though there are █
█ probably more excursions away from the undeniably █
█ symphonic prog feel of Invisible Din. It's █
█ certainly a worthy sophomore effort, expertly █
█ crafted with excellent writing and musicianship, █
█ impeccable production and once again, a beautiful █
█ presentation. █
█ I think of ESP Invisible Din as a Lowe/Brzezicki █
█ band but after seeing ESP 2.0 live, where Coyle █
█ may have played the part of front man, the group █
█ appeared to be more democratically organised than █
█ its predecessor. Invisible Din would get an easy 4 █
█ stars from me because it's something I played █
█ quite a lot shortly after its release. 22 Layers █
█ of Sunlight still gets 4 stars although I think █
█ it's less proggy than Invisible Din. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. God of Denial (ii. The Code) 8:03 ░
░ 2. Algorithm 4:06 ░
░ 3. 22 Layers of Sunlight 6:24 ░
░ 4. Ride Through Reality 3:56 ░
░ 5. Smiling Forever 6:36 ░
░ 6. Butterfly Suite (i. Don't Let Go, ii. 9:04 ░
░ Caught in the Net, iii. Travelling ░
░ Light) ░
░ 7. Sensual Earth 7:44 ░
░ 8. Gunshot Lips 7:28 ░
░ 9. The Ballad of Broken Hearts 6:40 ░
░ 60:01 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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