The Tangent
A Spark In The Aether – The Music That Died Alone Volume Two

Andy Tillison and his band The Tangent are back with a new release, which has always been something of a joy to behold, ever since the great debut called The Music That Died Alone was released back in 2003. Since then twelve years have passed and seven more studio albums have seen the light of day, two live albums have also been released. It has always been high quality releases from this band, but of course the more you keep on delivering the good, the closer you get to not being album to live up to that same standard. This album is actually about the progressive rock genre that Andy Tillison thought was dying back when he did the debut album, it is called A Spark in the Aether and is a sequel to that album bearing The Music That Died Alone Volume Two as a subtitle and it is the first album that is actually about the progressive rock genre and the new bands setting out on a new journey.

It is progressive rock music that has a leg in both the European and American style of the genre – that is the best way I know how to describe it. It is an album that runs through several genres and stylings and is not that easy to describe in words but it is melodic with distinct keyboards, fascinating song structures and Tillison’s distinct voice. It sounds classical Tangent while still moving forwards, the production is excellent, as you have come to expect from these guys. There are seven tracks on the album and the playing time reaches 68 minutes, some tracks are really long with one reaching over twenty minutes but the variation is very large so you will not easily find it too long or dreary as it moves in unforeseen directions at all time.

I think that it is very impressive to hear that The Tangent has once again managed to reinvent themselves, they manage to make something fresh and exciting while still sounding familiar for all who knows this band. I think that is a rather impressive feat to accomplish, it is not an easy task to keep reinventing one’s style, especially not in a way like these guys as they manage to make albums that differ from one another but still sounding The Tangent – there are not many who manage to do that. Did I mention that it is a really brilliant album? If I didn’t, it is and I would go so far as to describe it as one of the best of the year and also to point out that albums of this quality are both few and far between. I find it very impressive that the band just keeps re-establishing themselves as one of the top names in this genre, actually the word impressive might actually be the best way to describe this album because that is what it is.

Seven tracks, all of them are quite excellent and I don’t really know how to pick a favourite one of them, as they are all memorable and great. It is an impressive journey through different styles of music, moods and drama – it is a wonderful musical journey and one that takes you to many interesting places. I can recommend it to anyone who likes music and especially to anyone who likes progressive music, progressive rock at the highest level. I think impressive is the appropriate word for this album, it may not create sparks in the aether but it creates sparks on another level.

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