AVIARY

One of the so-called pomp prog bands that existed at the end of the 1970s and into the early 80s, AVIARY was the brainchild of classically trained pianist Brad Love who started the band in his home town of Omak and relocated to Seattle. While starting out as a full blown progressive rock band, Love didn't got in on the prog scene as it was waning in 1975 and didn't manage to release a debut album until 1979 when the climate had shifted completely from just a few years prior. Like many late bloomer prog bands, Love steered AVIARY into the world of hybrid prog that focused on catchy pop hooks and only used prog elements as the extra touches much like other contemporary acts like Styx, FM and Kansas.

After crafting a batch of above average cuts and assembling the right cast of characters to fulfill his prophecy, Love was lucky enough to capture the attention of several record companies in Los Angeles courtesy of a friendly connection. This resulted in a short-lived career that found AVIARY's sole self-titled album being released in the year 1979 at the height of the new wave and post-punk fueled frenzies that were en vogue at the turn of the decade. One of the respites for has-been prog bands was the world of arena rock style pomp prog in the vein of Styx, Journey and Kansas who had considerable success crafting catchy pop hooks with elements of prog woven into the compositional fabric.

And indeed AVIARY steered into that direction on its one release with instantly addictive pop hooks that found Brad Love showcasing his high register vocal abilities that sounded like a mix between Queen's Freddie Mercury and Sparks' Russel Mael. Integrating many of the successful acts' sounds into its mix, AVIARY crafted a unique fusion that took a bit of Sparks, a dab of Electric Light Orchestra and added a large heap of Queen and Styx. The result turned out to be surprising good with a collection of nine high energy tracks that existed somewhere between AOR, crossover art rock and the more demanding techniques of symphonic prog. The band enjoyed having Yes' manager of the time, Brian Lane who helped Yes reinvent itself into the success story that would release "90125" a few short years down the road but unfortunately AVIARY didn't experience the same sort of luck.

Despite touring with acts such as The Hollies and Eddie Money, AVIARY didn't even make a dent on the charts with its catchy and accessible pop hooks that were overshadowed by the new wave craze. The AOR scene was still viable however it was mostly established bands that were finding radio hits and not up and coming acts like AVIARY. Regardless, the lack of success certainly wasn't a result of a botched album's worth of material. The music of AVIARY was some of the top notch pomp prog of the entire era with instantly addictive and even quirky bounciness to the tunes that adopted the near falsetto style of Sparks with the arena rock heft of Styx and Journey. Brad Love's keyboards were fast and fiery right out of the Kansas playbook and at times the bouncy bass grooves remind me of some of the 80s Marillion material. Likewise lush vocal harmonies evoke classic Queen and the melodic pop sensibilities inspired by The Beatles and Jeff Lynne's ELO.

Oddly enough i have always found Styx and Journey albums to be a tad hit and miss with some brilliant material and some not so much. AVIARY on the other hand crafted an entire album of catchy pop hooks accompanied by energetic instrumental performances. High energy and passionately delivered with a focus on the high register trebly range, the band mastered the art of crossover prog like few others did yet remained overshadowed by the legions of acts such as The Clash, Talking Heads and The Knack (who they played with) in 1979. While some similar acts like Supertramp did find success during this era, disco was also hot with Donna Summer and Michael Jackson tearing up the charts. This music is actually fairly brilliant and addictive! While most proggers find this to be sell out music and most casual music listens will probably find this to be too pomp for its own good, for those who can find that perfect musical truce between the different worlds, they will love the heck outa this one!