DISCONNECT

Many people might know John Wesley as the touring guitarist with Porcupine Tree. That's where I stumbled across this man for the first time. Not being a Porcupine Tree Fan, but seeing a concert advertised in a club around my neighbourhood many years ago while living in Germany, I went anyway and was mostly impressed by the guitar player who was "just" the touring guitarist. As I am not a PT fan and did not know John Wesley is also a solo artist, I kind of forgot about him until recently by coincidences I listened to a podcast where he was in conversation with a men's movement coach and psychologist. I picked up that this is the guy whom I saw touring with PT and that he has an album out: "Disconnect". I listened to a few samples and immediately had to purchase the whole thing.

This album, just keep in mind, is not a full blown prog record. The prog references are there, e.g. here and there the PT influence show (especially o the first track and in the general sound of the album), there is a brilliant guest solo by Mr Rush (Alex Lifeson) on the track "Once were Warriors", and the whole album shows off a complex and highly skilled guitar playing, however without going into the "how many notes can I play in a minute" mode. The album rocks (sometimes quite hard), it grooves with regular tempo changes to keep the proggy interested, but it also would appeal to any melodic rock fan. Mr Wesley is maybe not as good as vocalist, as he is as a guitar player, but the vocals still are pretty good and much better than many prog vocalists out there. Apart from his brilliant guitar playing, he is a gifted lyricist, supplying us with a lot of moving and self-reflective lyrics (no wonder he is an interview partner on a podcasts around personal growth topics).

For me this is one of the best releases of 2014 so far. I would be tempted to give five stars, but knowing my preference for the less "proggy side of prog" and my love for more song oriented compositions, I will on a page like Prog Archive stick with four stars. (I would have given 5 stars on a general music site)