DEPARTURE

Sneaking in under the radar are accomplished neo prog rockers IT. Here's the thing though, Prog rock was always incredibly interesting and intelligent but a little self indulgent if not pretentious. IT seem to have taken this onboard because their gritty and satirical themes don't leave any room for myths or fantasy. In Burn (part 2) they have managed to cut and paste a Bush speech with hilarious (but tellingly accurate) results. The Lyrics are intelligent, challenging and occasionally darkly humorous. Did i mention the music? Ahem well, as a prog rock fan i've been waiting for something like this to come along for ages. There are singles on here that should be getting decent airplay - God Is Dead and the 1st single Killing Me are two examples of how to make a commercially viable 4 minute song while at the same time not departing (no pun intended) from the feel and flow of the album. There are shades of Porcupine Tree and Floyd (Departure) and i also drooled over the Hackettesque guitar on Burn (part 2). You'll want to come back to the bluesy 'Fighting for Freedom' and the sublime 'Disappear' but to single out two tracks would be unfair as there isn't a dud on here. This is their 4th album and one i sought out after falling in love with the previous offering 'Over & Out'. IT have a sound whcih fuses the classic melodies of prog rock's past with a passion and intensity usually only found in punk or metal bands. If you're getting tired of the new wave of electro pop and indie plagiarism then this album is a recommended purchase. It also comes with a DVD featuring live footage and a documentary.