AN HOUR BEFORE IT'S DARK

The gloomy but surprisingly uplifting and even hope-ridden twentieth studio album by Marillion titled 'An Hour Before It's Dark' is a further consolidation of a particular genre-defying sound that they have been developing over the course of the last decade and a half, one that is shaped by strong melodies, defined by a textured production, intelligent writing, and strong evocative messaging - this is the band's latest album in a nutshell. Some would probably dismiss this record whilst refuting its neo-prog credentials, and we might as well remind them that Marillion has moved on and evolved from what they have been some forty years ago. 'An Hour Before It's Dark' introduces some spectral, cinematic, and emotive passages (both instrumentally and lyrically) and is a full-on contemporary rock album that stays true to the band's rather mature, intelligent and mellow music, already familiar to a rather wide audience.

The record ebbs and flows gracefully between ethereal synth-driven soundscapes and waves of orchestrated layers of sound, transmitted by the masterful guitar crescendos of Steve Rothery and the rather astute bass punctuations. The charming jazz patterns of Ian Mosley's drums provide a pulsating and often discrete patches of rhythm to each track on here. The music is elevated by the elegant, powerful and rich singing voice of Steve Hogarth, a charismatic leader of a band of virtuoso songwriters. The eclecticism of the album makes is quite an intriguing listen, while the six actual tracks are made up several shorter interconnected pieces. The album is arranged masterfully and the tracklist has a certain kind of logic that goes through a myriad of moods and styles, from the melodramatic opener 'Be Hard on Yourself' to the heartfelt sounds of 'Murder Machines', followed by the symphonic catharsis that is 'The Crow and the Nightingale', to the genuinely gorgeous closing suite 'Care' - the entire album is a true celebration of the Marillion legacy and a well-constructed release marking a creative peak for the band of veterans.