HUMAN GEOMETRY

It's quite refreshing in this day and age for a band to release an album that's adheres to the time limits (around 40 minutes) from the golden age of vinyl. 'All killer, no filler' used to be the phrase, and High Spy have achieved just that with this album.

From the blistering intro of opening track 'Fade', right until the distant fade (no pun intended) of the last notes of the epic closing track 'Circles & Squares', they fill just under 40 minutes with six songs full of dynamic and powerful music.

And the emphasis here is on the songs. Whereas some (most?) prog tends to be a showcase for virtuosity (aka a need to show off), High Spy perform as a tight unit. Sure, there are some fantastic solos from Mark Price on keyboards and Rich Pointon on guitar (check out the solo on 'Watching'), but the overall feel is of a cohesive band performing for each other to achieve the best results possible.

Influence-wise, there's certainly more than a hint of '80s Rush - especially in the rhythm section - but that's never a bad thing. As well as this, there are elements of The Police at their energetic best mixed in with keyboard textures that evoke the great late '70s/early '8os early synth music of Gary Numan, Ultravox et al. On top of all of this are the wonderfully impassioned vocals of Jeff Henson, who delivers the thought provoking lyrics with great aplomb throughout.

It's great to hear such mature and intelligent rock music still being created in this day and age. High Spy do it brilliantly.

This is a great album. Buy it now.

4.5 Stars