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██▌ Artist...: Spock's Beard ░▐██▌
░▐██ Album....: The Archaeoptimist ░██▌░
▓▐██ Year.....: 2025 ▓▐██▓
▓▐██ Rel. Date: 2026-05-12 ░▐██▓
▐██ Genre....: Progressive Rock ██▌░
░ ██▌ Label....: Madfish ██▌
▐██ Source...: CD ▐██
░▐██▌ Type.....: Album ▐██▌░
▓▄████ Quality..: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo ████▌░
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1. Invisible 6:33
2. Electric Monk 6:16
3. Afourthoughts 7:31
4. St. Jerome in the Wilderness 8:46
5. The Archaeoptimist 20:57
6. Next Step 10:58
61:01
The Archaeoptimist is the first Spock's Beard album in seven years,
after 2018's Noise Floor. That's notable in its own right, because it
represents the biggest gap to date in between Spock's Beard studio
releases - a circumstance that can perhaps be traced back to key group
members being busy with the Pattern-Seeking Animals side project. Ryo
Okumoto, however, isn't part of that group - and so has been keeping his
supply of musical ideas ready to go as soon as the band was ready.
Musically speaking, The Archaeoptimist is dominated by his compositions,
arrived at in collaboration with guest Michael Whiteman, whilst Ted
Leonard pitches in here and there on the lyrics.
The 20+ minute long title track is clearly the centrepiece of the album;
thematically, it offers up a post-apocalyptic saga of the passage of
power from father to daughter within a clan of survivors, and the
philosophical differences in their outlook. If it weren't for Ted
Leonard's lyrics, however, you'd be hard-pressed to tell; on the musical
level, what you get here is pretty decently-executed Spock's Beard
stuff, through the lens of the sound the band have been offering up on
releases like The Oblivion Particle and Noise Floor. I'd generally put
it on the same tier as The Kindness of Strangers - it's perfectly
entertaining stuff, but it's not necessarily enormously memorable, and
will appeal to Beardheads without necessarily being the best jumping-on
point for newcomers.
--
Celebrating its 30th year as a musical entity since dropping its debut
"The Light" on the world and in the process joining the prog revival
that made prog cool again in the 1990s, SPOCK'S BEARD has had a rather
tumultuous existence but still found a way to steer its ship through
turbulent seas without sinking. Last heard in 2018 with the band's 13th
album "Noise Floor" it seemed perhaps the band could have possibly come
to an end with the three members of Ted Leonard, Dave Meros and Jimmy
Keegan launching Pattern-Seeking Animals and then releasing five albums
since but somehow the BEARD finds a way and now in 2025 not only do we
find a new Patter-Seeking Animals release but also THE ARCHAEOPTIMIST
from the BEARD itself which puts all those rumors of finality to rest.
Despite the band emerging from its slumber, the prog landscape has
shifted quite a bit in the last decade with the sounds of symphonic
inspiration from classic Genesis and Yes somewhat falling out of favor
to the more darkened soundscapes of dissonant King Crimson flavored
musical approaches. THE ARCHAEOPTIMIST opens in its classic symphonic
form adopting a bit of Kansas demeanor especially from the "Point Of
Know Return" era. Brisk keyboard stabs punctuate the musical landscape
ushering in an avalanche of crafty time signature workouts, high octave
operatic vocal bel canto and mid-70s arena rock guitar heft backing it
all up. Throw in some Steve Howe inspired soloing and the occasional
Gentle Giant inspired group harmonic vocals (as heard right from the get
go on the opening "Invisible") and it appears the BEARD is back for the
attack.
The album's near hour run finds SPOCK'S BEARD sounding fully recharged
after seven years with Alan Morse and Ryo Okumoto keeping the creative
juices flowing with Okumoto providing the lion's share of the composing
duties. The band's title track shows the BEARD still feeling adventurous
enough to churn out 20+ minute multi-suite scores as displayed on the
sprawling title track which features all the by now tried and tested
SPOCKisms often looking back to the Neil Morse days on "V" and "Snow." A
strange shift a few minutes through though showcases a few tricks up the
band's sleeves which give it a bit more grit then previous offerings. As
the lengthy track proceeds the band takes on a bit more Steely Dan feel
in lieu of the more dominant Kansas aspects that dominate.
All in all a decent comeback album by the legendary SPOCK'S BEARD
although the tall claims of pushing boundaries seem a bit far fetched
when this style of prog seems to have more than played itself out by now
and the constant rehashing of symphonic prog ideas from the 70s are
seeming more anachronistic as time goes on. With bands like Black Midi
taking prog into the 2020s suddenly SPOCK'S BEARD sounds like the old
kid on the block however if for those who simply want a form of comfort
prog that promises to deliver an established sound with little or no
innovation then i can't say THE ARCHAEOPTIMIST is an unpleasant listen
in the least. In fact it's quite a good one but not a great one
unfortunately which fails to live up to the high expectations that such
a classic band conjures up when it wakes up from its long cryogenic
state and demands a few moments in the limelight. For my liking though
this sounds too much like some lost Kansas album.
--
Spock's Beard make their return in 2025 with a new studio album after
seven years of silence, following the majority of the band members'
involvement with the spin-off project Pattern-Seeking Animals. 'The
Archaeoptimist', as goes the title of the band's fourteenth full-length
studio recording, was released through MadFish Music and sees the
reunion of Ted Leonard, Alan Morse, Dave Meros, and Ryo Okumoto, who are
joined by newcoming drummer Nic Potters, on a record that picks up
exactly where the band had left off with 'Noise Floor'. The bombastic
and playful symphonic progressive rock offered by 'The Archaeoptimist'
is a combination of instrumental virtuosity and streamlined melodies,
pretty much in the vain of previous recordings of the Ted Leonard-led
era of SB.
The keyboard-laden compositions on the album are primarily the
brainchild of Ryo Okumoto, who had been using the timeframe in-between
albums to generate and record ideas for a new album, which finally comes
in the form of a six-track fanfare of quirky and melodic prog. As much
as the entire album is uplifting and upbeat, 'The Archaeoptimist' also
impresses with the abundance of excellent instrumental passages that
showcase each member's fabulous skills, with standout tracks on the
album being the vibrant opener 'Invisible', the largely enjoyable
'Afourthoughts', which revisits the famous cross-album suite of the same
name, as well as the quirky 'St. Jerome in the Wilderness', and to an
extent the 20-minute-long epic title track, which features several
poignant sections. Nothing groundbreaking here though - just a solid
record from a band of veterans who explore a familiar sound, 'The
Archaeoptimist' is a strong and welcome return to form from one of prog
rock's most consistent and celebrated contemporary acts.
--
I have been a fan of Spock's Beard ever since Martin Orford sent me a
copy of the American version of 'The Light', informing me that GEP were
going to be releasing it in Europe. I saw the original line-up play a
few times when they came to the UK, interviewed Neal, Nick and Alan at
different times, and also saw the Nick-fronted version with Jimmy on
drums. That night they were supported by CGT and Enchant, and I cannot
have been the only one who was surprised when Ted Leonard later became
the new frontman. It is seven years since 'Noise Floor', and I honestly
thought the band was over given that Ted, Dave Meros and Jimmy had
formed Pattern-Seeking Animals with John Boegehold and released five
albums in the same period. But no, Ted and Dave have joined together
again with Alan and Ryo and new drummer Nick Potter to provide us with
'The Archaeoptimist'.
Nick is a very special find, as one would expect given whose shoes he
has had to fill, and he fits in seamlessly, as if he has been there
forever. Dave is the powering melodic strength he has always been, while
Ted has always been a great singer and lyricist, but in many ways this
album belongs to Ryo and Alan. They have turned it up and turned it
back, as there are solos which sound as if they belong on the earlier
albums as opposed to something 30 years on from the debut. Ryo has a
wonderful breadth of sound, and is always in control, whether it is on
delicate piano or bombastic organ, while Alan has really let himself rip
out some wonderful power chords and solos. I must confess to not being a
huge fan of his recent solo album, but here he definitely redeems
himself with his wonderfully expressive and dynamic technique.
I was somewhat confused by "Afourthoughts" until I got my head around
it, as there are so many themes here being repeated which were
originally on "Thoughts" from 'Beware of Darkness', but this is the
fourth in the series following on from "Thoughts (Part II)" and
"Afterthoughts". We get a nice epic in "The Archaeoptimist" which is
more than twenty minutes in length and sounds like a mix between Spock's
Beard and the more commercial sound of Enchant, very palatable indeed.
The album is thoroughly enjoyable, but not as essential as the more
recent ones, and are we going to have to wait so long for the next one,
and what does this mean for Pattern-Seeking Animals? It is strange to
realise that 'Snow' came out more than 20 years ago, and that and the
debut will always be my favourite SB releases, but this is an enjoyable
album which will please many progheads who also thought their journey
was over.
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