RITES AT DAWN

Over the last few months, my listening habits felt like they had gone a little stale. So in the hopes of alleviating that condition I've been casting my nets further and further afield. I've found myself experimenting with and being taken by things I never expected. I am truly very glad however, that the most pleasant surprise of my perusal is something pretty close to home in Rites at Dawn.

As many other reviewers have noted, Wobbler have taken more than a modicum of inspiration from one of my personal favourite bands, Yes. Their general sound, especially the singing, is much closer to Yes' later work like Magnification, but their creativity and musicianship are more on par with Yes' progressive peak in the early and mid 70s. That said though, Wobbler is not out there to impersonate Yes. They draw some inspiration from other progressive acts like Gentle Giant, Genessis and Jethro Tull. Ultimately, no matter the inspiration Rites at Dawn is a triumph which belongs to only Wobbler.

The mood of Rites is somewhat moderate. It rarely jumps for joy, but doesn't hit the dumps like say the way Soon does after the cacophony of Gates of Delirium. The result is a very focused and jazzy core to the album which tends to progress in long arcs rather than spasmodically jumping between styles. And so, by necessity Rites is a tightly played and highly progressive package. So much so that the tracks feel like they bleed from one into the next despite there being breaks after each one.

I had given up hope of ever finding a modern symphonic album which was capable of electrifying me in the same way as the genre defining works of the 1970s, but on Rites of Dawn, Wobbler has proved themselves up to the task. I think other symphonic fans will feel right at home on Rites as well. It is a exemplar of the genre and such non-fans will loath it and those without strong feelings will probably remain unmoved. For my part, I am more than happy to give Rites at Dawn a 5 out 5 five. It's exciting to have a current band making music like this. I look forward to reaching into their recent past and even more so to seeing what the future has in store for Wobbler.