II

Mother Turtle is a progressive rock band from Thessaloniki in Greece. They were formed in 2011 originally as a jam band, using the moniker Hogweed. In the jam sessions, some solid musical ideas were developed and after a lot of rehearsing the band were evolved into proper songs. They decided to change their name to Mother Turtle sometime in 2012, following the realization that they wanted to create their own music, based on common musical interests. Mother Turtle is influenced by great artists of the genre. Mother Turtle was the wedding of the classic prog with the modern prog. On their Facebook page the band includes as some of their influences Spock's Beard, Camel, King Crimson, Porcupine Tree, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Rush, Marillion, Transatlantic, Neal Morse, Pain Of Salvation and Kansas.

The music of Mother Turtle tries to adapt the different elements of the prog rock music into their own music, taking advantage of the artistic freedom that prog rock provides. Out of the loose jams more and more concrete musical ideas developed, which ultimately led to their own pieces. Mother Turtle released three studio albums until this moment, their self titled debut studio album "Mother Turtle" in 2013, their second studio album titled "II" in 2016 and their third studio album titled "Zea Mice" in 2018. The second of these three albums is the one which will be the subject of this review.

So, "II" is the second studio album of Mother Turtle and was released in 2016. The line up on the album is Kostas Konstantinidis (lead and backing vocals, guitars, MiDi, ukulele and composer), Giorgos Theodoropoulos (keyboards), Babis Prodomidis (saxophone and flute), Alex Kiourntziadis (violin), George Filopelou (electric and fretless basses) and Giorgos Mpalats (backing vocals and drums). The album had also the participation of Alexandra Sieti (vocals) and Maria Mariadou (vocals), as guest's singers.

So, three years after their impressive homonymous debut, Mother Turtle released their second studio album, simply entitled "II". The band once again takes over the release, thus indicating the autonomy and determination to achieve their musical vision. Bolder than ever and with more experimentation this time, Mother Turtle shows us a renewed version of their sound, where the heavy and symphonic elements gives way to directions that refer more to the jazz "sensitivities" of the Canterbury scene. All musicians have now the time and space to unfold their own talents and improvisational ability and the significant additions to the band composition reinforce this commendable effort. "II" is a big step for the band, in the context of continuous improvement, both synthetic and executive, and could be an album with a timeless value and recognition in the progressive rock scene. Mother Turtle plays inspirational and adventurous prog rock with a rich sound, showing their vision and ambition. That is perfectly perceived by its very first listenings. "II" has six tracks. The opening "Overture", despite its short duration and minimalistic development nicely takes us aback by the repeated multiple vocals that bring to my mind similar moments of Gentle Giant. "Harvest Moon" is really a great track with clear influences of King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator. It also reminds me Discipline, at times. The saxophone and violin operate faultlessly, combined with the theatrical tone of the vocals. This is one of the best tracks I've listened to in the last years. "Ennui" sounds like an atmospheric evocation, an intense emotional moment where the flute and fretless bass make the piece hover. "Walpurgi Flame" is the lengthiest track. It's a truly adventurous piece with interesting changes and escalating tensions. The violin and saxophone duo gives a dramatic tone until a pretty delicate melodic "crust" is formed. The female vocals add some sensuality to the piece. "The Tower" comes to remember the terrible memories of September 11th. This is a very beautiful and power piece of music were the drumming work shows confidence and comfort linking the changes between the rhythm and musical themes. "The Art Of Ending A Revolution" is a melancholic piece that begins with optimism, where the contrast of emotions is identified and alternates with the singing of wind, string and electric guitar, until complete it with an exemplary climax in the end.

Conclusion: I think Mother Turtle has all the ingredients to be a great band. I must say that I was very impressed with their second studio album. In reality, Mother Turtle manage to meet all the expectations, thanks to the maturity, evolution and quality that can distinguish them. Perseverance, passion and extra experience are clearly here. It seems the band has a serious musical project very well structured that can measure the pulse of both, musically and lyrically. "II" is a choice that meets the ambitions of a band that filters out its influences and delivers a set of choreographed, mature and well crafted compositions. "II" has become truly beautiful, sometimes almost fragile, a retroprog album of a special kind. With this album, Mother Turtle proves they master very well the art of not giving up on to evolve on their music. This is an excellent conceptual album. The genre fans should be thrilled. The album gives to them a good way.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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