TINYFISH

The roots of the London-based Tinyfish can be found in the 80's Neo Prog act Freefall, where Simon Godfrey, Jim Sanders and Paul Worwood, friends since their schooldays, performed together along with Simon's brother Jem.When Freefall fell apart in early-90's Jem became a famous producer and also formed Frost, while Simon Godfrey, Sanders and Worwood went on through various music projects and finally formed Tinyfish in 2004, marking a return to their prog roots.The trio along with Rob Ramsay and drummer Leon Camfield recorded their self-produced self-titled debut between 2005 and 2006, finally released on the independent label Lazy Gun Records in 2006.

''Tinyfish'' sounds very modern with the members nicely carrying the Freefall style in the new millenium and the album has obvious PINK FLOYD, SALEM HILL and SPOCK'S BEARD echoes.It is far from anything really complex or trully challenging, but this is more of an atmospheric Prog album with strong vocal content and a very clear production.The musicianship is based on short compositions, filled with expressive singing, somber guitar solos and constant changes between smoother and heavier passages with the guitars of Godfrey and Sanders as the leading instruments, trying this way to come up with various different atmospheres that make the ''Tinyfish'' listening a pleasant experience.Among these short tracks Tinyfish decided to put up their own prog show in the long ''All hands lost'', a tracks that defines the band's style, built around dramatic breaks, FLOYD-ian guitar solos, energetic grooves and an intense lyricism.

A brand new and fresh start for these British Prog veterans.Not very original and not even really adventurous, but ''Tinyfish'' is definitely an enjoyable prog debut by a group, which knows exactly how to write down some pretty music.Recommended.

When I first heard this album I have to admit, I hated it. The narration was a nice idea, but overdone to the point of being annoying. But then after a few plays I have to admit that it's grown on me immensly. The stand out track for me is 'Rainland', which starts with a great tribal rhythm and screaming wah guitar. Ther title track itself is also very strong. The overall sound of the album is quite slick and modern, and nicely produced. I suggest that if you buy this album, give it a few plays, because I'm sure it'll grow on you as it did me.

3.5 stars

Let me put it bluntly and first say what this album is full of: it is crammed with short soundscapes, intros, outros, interludes, long speeches, musical bridges between songs, storylines and narrative twists. On the other hand, what this disc is thin on is songs and music. For your money you get no more than five proper songs (as opposed to some shreds of themes overloaded with sound effects) which include "Rainland," "Bad Weather Road," "I'm Not Crashing," "The Big Red Spark," and "Wide Awake At Midnight." These songs sound like a modernized, heavy take on neo-prog (think later Galahad and Arena). The rest of the album is just one huge filler of movie-style sounds and pretentious talking. Yes, these guys are brilliant at creating various moods in their short ambient sketches (e.g. "Building the Machine" is brimming with suspense); and a couple of songs (especially "I'm Not Crashing" ? easily the best track on the album) demonstrate that they have something to show in the songwriting department. But there is just too little of it. Instead we are fed a ridiculously pompous concept story, hardly intelligible even after visiting the band's website, with self-aggrandizing references to Nietzsche and various XX utopian literature. C'mon, if I want to read philosophy I will pick up a book. Such pseudo-intellectual aspirations are used, in my opinion, to mask the glaring absence at the heart of the album ? the absence of music. Don't be fooled by some of the rave reviews: there is lots of pretense and little substance on this disc. Besides, a two-disc set is kinda pricey and it's definitely not worth the money. The bonus DVD is supposed to contain three additional songs which I've never bothered to explore, nor ever will. In short, don't bother, there are much better albums around.

A cool SciFi ride even if the story and presentation (narration) is, at times, a bit over-dramatic. The elderly gentleman's narrative voice is much more powerful, much more 'natural' feeling that that of the younger man. Note the influences mentioned here and by others because they are very present: PINK FLOYD, SAGA, RUSH, PORCUPINE TREE, hence there is, at times, a bit of a favor given to drama over music complexity. Nice music throughout, nothing earth-shatteringly new or innovative but a great story well told. Agree: "Wide Awake at Midnight" doesn't fit with the album's concept theme, should have been saved for another album or the bonus song list. 3.5 star album. Rating it down for inconsistency and lack of anything really new or exciting musically.

Faves: the PINK FLOYD-ish "I'm not Crashing," the STEVEN WILSON-like "Weak Machine," and "The Final Act" (weird to hear Nietzsche's name sung!) ("Loose Ends, Pt. 2" sounds like I should be watching this show on stage as a Broadway musical . . . Who knows!)

Generic music labels are tricky beasts at the best of times. They may be easy (or lazy) handles but they can be very limiting as well. The term progressive rock may very well be the most vague of the lot. Whilst the term progressive implies music that pushes boundaries, evolving from more standard rock styles, unfortunately it also immediately conjures up images of keyboard players dressed as wizards singing about elves, and possibly vice versa. (yes, Wakeman, we are talking about you!) Tinyfish are an example of just how redundant the label and the image it generates are and this live album is all the proof you need.

Although they bear many of the trapping s of 70's bands that shall remain?well, remain Yes and ELP, they embrace much to be found in other genres and more contemporary movements as well and it is this forward looking approach that keeps them relevant and fresh. And if on occasion they do tip their hat to some dinosaur rockers of the past, it is certainly not the star patterned, pointy type, more a natty fedora worn at a rakish angle.

It's easy to spot some of the neo-progressive markers in their musical landscape, soaring guitar solos that occasionally head into Pendragon territory and Orwellian spoken word bulletins that Twelfth Night fans might appreciate as well as the less specific building blocks common to the genre. Actually there is quite a dystopian undercurrent to some of their music, hardly surprising when two of the band cite Blade Runner amongst their top films.

But it's not some gloomy sub Vangelis soundtrack, the music just as often filled with full on rock driving grooves and spiralling riffs, Motorville being a prime example, as it is with clever musical constructs and reflective, synth washed passages. But the nature of the beast is that the songs often fall straight out of one extreme and into the other and this is what makes it so vibrant, Wide Awake At Midnight neatly encapsulating this, in fact if you wanted a brief overview of what the band are about, this song pretty much runs the full terpsichorean gamut.

What is quite admirable about the sound of the band is that above an extremely competent rhythm section, the myriad of sounds heard are produced by the guitars. All those apparent keyboard washes and strange and exotic peripheral sounds also come courtesy of the six string department, not the normal approach for a band who create such a symphonic and textured sound.

As an overview of the bands two studio albums, this acts as the perfect first port of call, not only a live rendition, but one that maintains a high production quality and the virtuosity of playing needed to do the songs justice. And on the strength of this album I would have to say that progressive rock, for want of a better word, is in particularly safe hands.

The Concept Album. Reports of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. Okay, I suppose it never really went away but it is certainly a format that has for a long time been at odds with current vogue, but finally help has arrived. In the hands of Tinyfish it has been imbued with new life - you might even say we've gone from Genesis to Revolution. Gone are the effete and flaky hippy ramblings that form the stereotypical image of such a beast to be replaced with a mean and lean slab of dark dystopian creativity and edgy, unpredictable twists. Ladies and Gentlemen I give you, The Big Red Spark.

Fusing together a mix of operatic guitar lines, swift dynamic changes and spoken word they have created an album that plays out like a dark futuristic warning and which sounds like the musical H.G.Wells may have written if he had been a young man today, or possibly Jeff Wayne getting to grips with Orwell's 1984.

Based around the vague concept of society's demise at the hands of the creation of a vast and unspecified technology, it manages to build a musical landscape that is at a turn aggressive, horrific, reflective and hopeful. The usual neo-progressive forms are often at work here but the shadows that loom large over their world for my money are those of Schoenberg, Kafka and even Muse rather than the more obvious references of say Rush and Marillion.

Musically it brings a lot to the table, but that music is as much part of the story telling as are the narrative segments, adding mood and atmosphere to the cold words and stark imagery that is being revealed. For every driven Rainland there is a warped orchestral Building the Machine and in between the voice of the Young Professor describes the cold machinations of the worlds demise.

In short it's a brilliantly conceived and wonderfully delivered piece of work and one that should find firm fans in a world whose media seems shored up by films of apocalyptic predictions and dark fantastic scenarios.

The concept album is dead, long live the concept album.

It's got potential, but it's not used.

Tinyfish is a relatively new prog rock band band from the UK. With the current release of (currently) two actual studio albums, and then... this..., they have been quite successful in putting themselves on the radar of the pop/prog scene. The music is a fusion of pop/rock, hard rock, and a light spritz of musical experimentation that we here like to call prog. On this album, the music is mostly this pop fusion, with a very electronic acoustic hip hop feel to it, rather than anything I really like. The album really isn't a studio album at all, having only 7 tracks and running less than 30 minutes. At first I was excited seeing only 7 tracks, for I was expecting some lengthy composition to polish off the play time, but I was rather disappointed. It seems that Tinyfish is good at making tiny(not so good)albums.

The June Jar is a simple pop rock song, with some catchy vocal melodies and some simple chord progressions and watered down rhythms. I wouldn't be surprised if I heard something similar to this on the local pop station or at a high school dance. Some hip hop beats and electronic sounds back the album and fill in all the cracks the acoustic guitar chords make. The song, overall, isn't really a strong opener, unless you're looking at this as a pop album.

Ack Ack is a useless 20 second track of some people making small talk. I mean seriously, why would you put this on an album?

She's all I Want is another pop rock song. Look at the title, and you can see why. This is an acoustic/hip hop/electronic "love" song. Now trying to make money in the music business is perfectly fine, but don't try to convince me that rubbish like this is prog in the least sense.

Driving All Night is a much needed break in the sequence. The song still has a huge pop rock feel, but the music is a little hip hoppy and a little more compassionate and emotional. It's still acoustic and rather boring, but has a slightly more creative and proggish twinge to it.

Why VHF? is actually a rather good track. Now it has some of the most prominent hip hop beats to it, but it also some of the most obvious prog influence to it. Clocking in at an amazing 8 minutes (gasp), the album is the longest on the album and has only a minor reason to be so. Although the lyrics really don't vary from "Why vhf? Tell me why vhf?" for around 6 minutes of the song, some interesting instrumentation and some creative guitar chords used. Overall it isn't the best track, but holds the album up.

Wrecking Ball is a whiny love ballad with some highly cheesy lyrics like "I loved you before you loved me" and "I kissed you before you kissed me" that really can make a real prog love cringe. The music is uncreative and atypical of all pop music on pop stations these days: Acoustic guitar chords, tambourine, and cheesy lyrics. Even when it breaks into some more rocking music, it's poppy, cheesy, and just plain old bad.

Cinnamon is, sadly, another pop rock song to end the album. It has the most electronic beats going for it. Some of the song does have an experimental feel and some interesting chord progressions, but overall it still boils down to sugary pop music. Some quasi- interesting interesting instrumentation makes the song almost interesting, but it's still the same thing repeating for 6 minutes.

ALBUM OVERALL: This is the true definition of pop/prog, but take out the prog. To call it prog would be extremely drawn out and almost a preposterous statement, and the same thing goes for calling this an LP. Most albums in the age of vinyl ran longer than this. The music is really just pop/rock with a slight twinge of experimentation in Why VHF?, which is weak anyway. Overall, a very weak album with barely prog twinge in it, even by Crossover standards. 1 star.

Wide Awake at Midnight

Self-identified as "the world's smallest progressive rock band", Tinyfish has, ironically, created one of the biggest progressive rock albums in 2010 with The Big Red Spark. Boasting a stunning concept, a fantastic cast of musicians, and a professional overall product, Tinyfish has created a serious contender for progressive rock album of the year 2010. This album rocks when it needs to, it lets the atmosphere absorb you at the appropriate times, and, most importantly, it is amazing the whole way through. If you're a fan of the modern progressive rock scene, I would check out The Big Red Spark sooner rather than later. These guys may be a tiny fish (pun intended) in the ocean of progressive rock, but they have a big enough sound to really stand out from the crowd. I really hope that Tinyfish gets the recognition they deserve for The Big Red Spark outside of their dedicated cult following - they definitely deserve it.

Tinyfish sounds like a cross between Echolyn, Spock's Beard, Marillion, Porcupine Tree, and a bit of Pink Floyd. The vocal harmonies and complex tendencies remind me of early Spock's Beard and Echolyn, whereas the more atmospheric tendencies hint towards Pink Floyd, and the melancholic emotions are akin to fellow British bands Porcupine Tree and new-era Marillion. Tinyfish seem to have found the perfect balance between being melancholic and still having fun. The Big Red Spark is a concept album (aside from the closing track) about a machine that can grant man's wishes, which we later find out has some setbacks. My only real complaint with the entire album is that the final track, "Wide Awake at Midnight" feels a bit disconnected from the rest of the album. It's a fantastic song, but the fact that it's the only song on the entire album that's not part of The Big Red Spark Suite, it feels a bit awkward as a closing song. Aside from that small nitpicky complaint, I have no other issues about the album. The concept rarely gets in the way of the music, and the vast majority of the songs here are progressive rock masterpieces. Tracks like "Rainland", "Wide Awake at Midnight", "I'm Not Crashing", and "The Big Red Spark" are all terrific examples of what Tinyfish is all about.

The cast of musicians in Tinyfish are all very talented. They are technically a four-piece band, although Rob Ramsey is only responsible for the spoken word portions of the album. Simon Godfrey, who is responsible for vocals, drums, and rhythm guitar, is often the highlight for me. He has a spectacular voice with a great tone and impressive range. In addition to the four core members, there are also a host of guest musicians, all responsible for vocals, spoken word sections, and keyboard duties.

The production is simply amazing. It sounds very modern and is filled to the brim with great atmospheric qualities. No complaints here.

Conclusion:

The Big Red Spark has often been considered one of the best prog albums from 2010, and after many dedicated listens, it's not hard to understand why. This strikingly original concept album with poignant lyrics and unforgettable music is enough to satisfy almost any listener. I was tempted to play my 5 star card here, but for now I'll go with a conservative 4.5 star rating. This is surely an essential modern prog album - long live Tinyfish!

I don't often break cover and write reviews of albums, but here's something that really raises the bar and insists I make an exception.

Tinyfish are a South London group who describe themselves as "the world's smallest progressive rock band". Their first album, eponymously titled and released in 2006, was a refreshing antidote to the overblown excesses of the genre - nicely crafted songs, quirky spoken-word segments which made the listener sit up and take notice, and even a dyed-in-the-wool epic in the shape of 'All Hands Lost'.

It's taken three and a half years for the band to release the successor - though with the Curious Things EP and a live album and DVD in the interim - but boy, has it been worth the wait. Think of the first album as a pointer to what Tinyfish might be capable of, and The Big Red Spark as the culmination, and you're along the right lines. Again, the songs are songs rather than meandering, pointless exercises in technical competance, though the skill of the musicians in the band cannot be doubted. In particular the guitars sound huge - Jim Sanders an old-school melodic guitar hero, and Simon Godfrey a rock-solid textural rhythm player. Godfrey's artistry comes through further in the way the album is put together, the songs structured around an over-arching concept, developed through Robert Ramsay's lyrics (this man has to be the finest lyricist in progressive rock today, period) and his spoken word pieces, the mood of which ranges from exciting, thrilling almost, to totally chilling. The whole thing is held together by a solid rhythmic backbone of bass (Paul Worwood) and drums (that man Godfrey again), which never gets in the way of the song or the message.

The Big Red Spark is based around a suite of songs, bookended by The Loose Ends, Godfrey singing over a soundscape, with the first segment prefaced by a spoken-word monologue recited by no other than Mr. Godfrey Snr (a gentleman with a superb voice, honed through many years of working in radio). We're then treated to the first "oh my God" moment in the shape of Rainland, simply one of the most breathtaking pieces of rock music I've heard in a long time. This song has all the Tinyfish hallmarks - huge lead guitars, a hook you could catch a shoal of fish with, and Ramsay with his first spoken contribution to the album. After this the songs come thick and fast - Bad Weather Road with its bluesy groove, I'm Not Crashing a superb ballad, the title track a progressive rock monster, and the subdued tense acoustic feel of Weak Machine - before the concept is fulfilled in Activation, with a reprise of the Rainland theme. These songs are interspersed with more spoken-word segments which develop the story, recited by Ramsay and guest contributor Iain Houston over more of those exquisite soundscapes. At the end of the disc we're treated to another ten minutes of superb progressive rock in the form of Wide Awake At Midnight - which may be part of the concept, or maybe not. The band are happy enough to let the listener decide for him or herself.

The initial run of the album comes with a DVD featuring an interview with the band and four bonus tracks - these songs aren't filler, but simply pieces which didn't fit into the original concept but are worthy of release on their own. Ride is of special note - a song based on a riff by Bill Hicks, and sung by Geoff Wootton, whose voice provides a nice contrast to Godfrey's more 'rock' delivery.

I could go on forever - but basically my advice is to buy this album. This really does fulfil the criteria for five stars - an essential part of any progressive rock lover's collection.

Three years in the making, this was threatening to become the band's "Chinese Democracy". Now it's here, was it worth the wait? Without a doubt, yes - this is the prg album of the year. Most of the album is taken up by The Big Red Spark suite - a concept about a "machine to fulfil mankind's greatest wish...". The suite starts off with the machine about to be switched on, the rest of the album is a flashback leading up to this event.

Musically the albums sounds more like the Tinyfish debut than "Curious Things" and most of the Tinyfish trademarks are there - the multi-layered guitars and vocals, the little bits you don't heard at first but that become apparent on repeated listens and, of course, the spoken word sections. This time Rob Ramsey is joined by Simon Godfrey's father, amongst others. I find myself being reminded of "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" here (not a bad thing) - a concept suite interspersed with talking, although the talking here makes more sense than Stanley Unwin. Am I alone in also being reminded of "Lost"?

Between most of the normal Tinyfish songs, we have instrumental and talking numbers, the best of these being the wonderful orchestral piece "Building the Machine" which, as Simon himself admits, sounds like something from "Peter and the Wolf". The title track itself has been played at 'fishes gigs for a couple of years and we finally get to hear the recorded version. And very good it is too. The Floyd-like "Weak Machine" is possibly my favourite track of the suite, and "The Loose Ends II" rounds the whole thing of with a reprise of the opening track. I haven't gone into much detail of the overall concept, you need to listen and read a bit about it on the Tinyfish web site but you can still enjoy a brilliant suite of songs. And there's more

"Wide Awake at Midnight" is a ten minute epic already heard on the "One Night on Fire" DVD. On the bonus DVD, along with an interesting band interview, there are 4 additional tracks. "The Sarcasm Never Stops", the soulful (potential hit single?) "Ride" which features the excellent guest vocals of Geoff Wootton, "Eat the Ashes", (all 3 of which are also on the "One Night on Fire" DVD) and the gentle "Let's Get Invisible".

So here we have it. This is the first prog album to be rated 9 out of 10 in Classic Rock (by Geoff Barton no less) and it fully deserves all 9 of those marks. Tinyfish continue to raise the bar of modern prog and this one sets the standard for others to follow.