LA CLEF DES SONGES

Driven by the excellent Gilmour-like guitar skills of Gerald Reuz, Pentacle's sole album is an intriguing product of the French prog scene which manages to attain an intriguing balance between indulging in symphonic prog complexity and maintaining sufficient accessibility to give the music broad appeal. It's precisely this sort of balancing act which five to six years later would give rise to the neo-prog scene, and there are points where the music does drift into territory reminiscent of early recordings by Twelfth Night and The Lens (the band who, in case you don't know, eventually evolved into IQ). That isn't to say this is a full-on neo album, but it is a fascinating reminder that even before the punk wave hit there were still plenty of bands producing prog in an accessible manner that was open to mainstream audiences, if they but had the inclination to listen.