THRENODY FOR A DEAD QUEEN

The virtues of containment or more exactly of the global pandemic of 2019....until today. For what ? because this new COMEDY OF ERRORS opus was born largely thanks to Covid 19, the musicians of the Scottish group having had time to prepare the material to compose and record two discs at that time... This one displays a little less than an hour for eight titles which is very reasonable, with three pieces of more than twelve minutes each, the other five counting between three and four minutes.

Among the qualities that we must recognize in COMEDY OF ERRORS is their consistency, six albums in twelve years and no failures, not all bands can say the same. Your neighbor across the street is going to make itchy hair between your shoulder blades, and retort "no unforgettable peak", which isn't wrong either...Let's start with the beginning of this "Threnody for A Dead Queen " whose title has nothing to do with the recent disappearance of ELIZABETH II...pure chance, with "Summer Lies Beyond" and its fifteen minutes twenty-seven, the longest track of the album (10/ 10), range of evanescent keyboards (samples of strings) like a soundtrack in front of the ocean before the arrival of the guitars and the vocals, a beautiful mid tempo which is more catchy, the voice more withdrawn than on the previous discs of the group, including six strings at their best (Sam McCULLOCH & Mark SPALDING), very nice start with a long piece, what more could you ask for, maybe (even if it's always easier to say it afterwards) the best piece of COMEDY OF ERRORS, historically speaking?

Since I just named the ocean, let's continue with the second epic "The Seventh Seal", more energetic than the first title, Jim JOHNSTON who composes all the music, proves that he is an excellent keyboardist (there was no doubt allowed but he proves it much more than before), he fires all the wood, all the keys I should say, he carries the piece all by himself, embellished with a largely instrumental second half (a real delight for your ears 9/10), reminiscent of ABEL GANZ's first two albums at the dawn of the eighties and which puts the thistle in the spotlight.

A good breath before three short titles, from "We Are Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made On" instrumental without drums to "Through the Veil" flooded with strings and instrumental also but with drums via "Jane" mischievous radio ballad that takes you in in the brain from the first listening, hemmed with a well brought guitar solo (8/10 for the trinome), not very progressive will say the grumpy .... Place at the third long piece of the work with the eponymous "Threnody for a Dead Queen", slightly oriental acoustic guitar in introduction accompanied by Jim's piano, an introduction which continues in an adventurous and instrumental vein, even if it turns out to be a bit repetitive at times, frankly impossible to recognize COMEDY OF ERRORS on the first eight minutes (i.e. two thirds) of the piece, surprising and exotic (not peasants!), you will only find vocals here during the last three minutes coupled with a very appropriate solo of six strings (9/10) and you will be able to recognize the mark of the Scottish formation.

The last two short tracks have their charm (8/10), the first very Vangelisian, the second takes us back to the "Prelude, Riff and Fugue" from the album "Disobey" in 2011 with the crowd applauding. Overall an excellent surprise that this album, because original, irreproachable keyboard, not very far from the new age at times even if the whole moves away from the full progressive rock to which we are accustomed.