HOURGLASS

For those not familiar with Cary Heuchert, he is a singer song writer multi instrumentalist based out of Canada. Hourglass, his third full length album, has been a long time in the works and finally arrived earlier this year. Being that no one so far on Progarchives has rated or reviewed this seven year in the making album, I would like to step up.

In my review of his previous album "Blue Rain" I was struck by it's elegant simplicity, yet laced with subtle complexities. There was, I thought, a 1960s folk sounding light psychedelia with prog components, something along the lines of early Pink Floyd had they gone all in on a singer songwriter mode. This was intelligent relaxing fare that could as I wrote then, ease you in to your day or help you decompress on out in the evening.

So being that a long time has gone by between albums, what do we find this time? For the most part, a logical and bit more refined extension of his previous work, generally in the same palette of colors. This is by no means a bad thing. What Cary does, he does well, and more of it is a good thing. This is not to say that there is not some new elements to discover. While most of the songs as expected are acoustically or very light electric oriented, there are some surprising and welcome sharper solos laced throughout to create some nice contrasts. One of the things about his previous album that I really liked was that it had a production sound that seemed a bit back dated, a bit fuzzy at the edges, almost if it had actually been recorded in the sixties. It fit the music well and really took you back in time in a nostalgic way. This album, definitely feels a bit more tightly produced and clean, a bit more modern, a bit more polished, yet the sense of being back dated is not lost. The fact that the songs tap the roots of an older time and sound does much to create that feeling as well. That is, they create a sense of while you know you are hearing something new, they feel familiar, like the comfort of spending time with old friends.

Cary's vocals and song writing, just as they were in his previous album, are again a high point of the production. His voice continues to be a pleasant fit with his lyrical content, which as previously, is a big step intellectually above most music in the public eye. The arrangements themselves tend to be spartan in nature, with a limited number of instruments, but it is a credit to Cary's musical talent and obvious affinity for the songs of old, that there always seems to be a certain density and complexity that raises his songs above simple folk or easy listening, but gives them a muted progressive edge.

These are not long songs, everything is under five minutes. In fact, the album clocks in at a mere 38 minutes total. That in its own right takes us back to the days of yore when vinyl albums were usually under 40 minutes maximum. A bit more of that nostalgic essence is derived in this I believe. Overall, the album length seems good as it doesn't overstay it's welcome, nor is it stuffed with filler as often seems to happen when artists start running up an hour or more of material in a single release. What is of note, is that although a number of the tracks are short, there still tends to be some interesting changes in tempo, instrumentation, and such that keeps them from being so simple that one loses interest in them after hearing them a time or two.

So, let's briefly review the songs:

"This is the Time" A lovely soft acoustic guitar ballad, compelling vocal, reminiscent of that early Pink Floyd feeling with some light guitar effects that give it an interesting tone. A strong start that sets the bar for what's to come (10/10)

"The Sea of faces" Starts with a eerie wind like tone , blends into a guitar and percussion, a more up tempo vocal and pace, some interesting spacey musical effects about half way through to nearly the end, and then closes back up with a reprise of the opening guitar and vocal work. Let's us know there will definitely be progressive elements in these songs. (9/10)

"You are the World to Me" Slows things back down again. Another lovely ballad that features the excellent piano work of guest artist Tony Pagliuca of RPI band Le Orme fame. An obvious tip of the hat that Cary is well respected in the progressive community and is drawing on those talents to blend those elements into his songs. (9.5/10)

"Waiting for You" This changes the pace once again and starts with a hypnotic low keyboard rhythm, acoustic guitar joins over the top, and again is very Pink Floyd inspired. A mild psychedelic flavor prevails, enhanced by a ticking clock like percussion element throughout until the end. (10/10)

"From the Corner of my Eye" A more uptempo guitar oriented ballad, joined by a new sound, a flute or a synth generated flute effect perhaps? This has a more pastoral flavor. Very nice! (9/10)

"Forever and So Far" Opens again with piano, acoustic guitar, almost a bouncy vocal, again capturing that early folk atmosphere, almost a sing along type track. (8/10)

"Together" Opens with a surprise as we are greeted with some sharp electric guitar riffing. Curiously, when playing this track a friend of mine heard it and remarked, "Who is this? Sounds a bit like Donovan." I hadn't made that connection, but realized they were right, both vocally, and with the electric guitar play. If there is a 'rocker' on this album this is it! A favorite track for me! (10/10)

"I Don't want to Say Goodnight to You" This is probably the second most 'rocker' track, back to back with the previous song, and has a pleasant nostalgic early upbeat blues sound to it. But it also has something I noted in his last release, that he sometimes channels the spirit of the Beatles, and that seems to be lingering at the back of this track, definitely though, the very early sound of the Beatles... (8/10)

"Hourglass" This is the title track. This one again changes the pace entirely and opens as a very stripped down ballad, similar to the opening track featuring Cary's emotive vocals, which this time come at us with a very cool reverb echo effect. But unlike the first track this one gradually builds up with percussion, drums, and eventually features a great restrained distorted guitar solo, and closes out with the return of the ticking clock type percussion and some backwards notes. (9.5/10)

"When Fortune Smiles" This one falls back on the psychedelia framework, great guitar play, acoustic picking and strumming, underlying dense bass, and another vocal that sounds just slightly like it's coming up to us from a tunnel. A real sixties folk flashback for sure. A great finish to this collection of songs! (10/10)

As I said in my review of "Blue Rain", if you want bombast in your progressive music, this probably isn't for you. But, if you have a certain longing and reminiscence for bits and pieces of the folk, psychedelia, and light rock of the sixties, this varied collection will provide an alchemy that you should most certainly enjoy.

As can be seen from my scores, the songs here are of a very high quality, so I hope you will all be encouraged to have a listen. Recommended that you do so in a relaxed mellow chilled state of mind. My rating is 4.5 stars, but for building off of his previous album, and making a more polished successor that is still magnificently retro, I am going to round up! Hopefully the next effort will come to us just a bit quicker than seven years please!