SOUNDS THAT CAN'T BE MADE

After suffering through initial listens of both TAAB2 and Homo Erraticus, I was soothed by playing this emotive and passionate new offering from Marillion. I, for one, was never a fan of the 80's neo-prog (read neo-Genesis) movement and always found the H era band to be a breath of fresh air. What makes this album work for me is the honest level of sincerity that shines through the songs. The epic opener Gaza has a huge in you face sound that compliments Hogarth's yearning vocals. The song is not a political vehicle but simply one mans observation that enough is enough. The title track Sounds That Can't Be Made contains all of the key musical signatures that make Marillion's sound so unique: Peter T's thick shuddering base lines, Ian Mosley's pile driver drums, ominous keys from Mark Kelly, ridiculously melodic guitar solos from Steve Rothery and, of course, Steve H's impassioned vocals.This musical bliss and blitz carries over into the following songs Pour My Love and Power. The long slower reflective song Montreal is probably where this album should have ended as the concluding three songs contain two straight up albeit very good rockers (Invisible Ink, Lucky Man) and concludes with another long slow burning number (The Sky Above The Rain). I try to think of these songs as bonus cuts as the proceeding 5 choice songs total 50 minutes in running time. STCBM may not be a perfect Marillion album but after hearing so many new prog albums that lack emotion and passion, Roy Harper's Man And Myth being the exception, it's good to feel that blast of fresh air again. 4 stars.