LOVE OVER FEAR

Pendragon was formed in 1976, in the small town of Stroud, Gloucestshire, England, by the young enthusiast Nick Barrett and some schoolmates. Initially the band's name was Zeus Pendragon, which would be shortened two years later. The band struggled hard to stand out among hundreds of other bands that formed almost daily in the British Isles. A big force came when the group was invited by another big name, Marillion. The two bands got along so well that Marillion invited Pendragon to open their shows at the London's prestigious Marquee Club. With Marillion's concerts attracting a large number of many new fans, the group began to establish their own identity and audience. Due to that, Pendragon became as one of the biggest names in the neo-prog sub- genre and made a very impressive musical career.

"Love Over Fear" is the eleventh studio album of Pendragon and was released in 2020. The pattern of the last two few Pendragon's albums have been an alternation between an experimental album followed by an album where all the new elements crystallise, and the band reaches a new plateau. But, with this new album, Pendragon breaks the pattern, and is instead a dramatic shift in mood, leaving behind the raw anger of "Pure" and the resigned darkness of "Men Who Climb Mountains". So, this is a true unexpected treat to hear the familiar Pendragon's elements in an uplifting context.

The line up on the album is Nick Barrett (vocals, guitars, Roland V-Piano, Nord Stage 3 piano, mandolin and keyboard programming), Clive Nolan (keyboards), Peter Gee (bass guitar) and Jan-Vincent Velazco (drums and percussion). The album had also the participation of Zoe Devenish (backing vocals and violin) and Julian Baker (saxophone).

"Love Over Fear" has two editions, the standard edition and the limited edition. The standard edition with one CD or two LP's has ten tracks plus two bonus tracks. The limited edition, besides the CD's of the standard edition, has two more CD's, an acoustic CD and an instrumental CD, with the same tracks. My review will be about the standard edition.

So, as I mentioned before, the standard version of "Love Over Fear" has ten tracks. The album opens with the power of "Everything", an in your face a blast of keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. It starts off with a fast beat and a heavily influenced 70's organ, but soon the song moves into its own more familiar territory. "Starfish And The Moon" is a nice captivating song where the focus is on Barrett's vocal performance. This is well combined with the piano and the guitar melodies, in addition to a string support. Everything makes of this a work of extreme smoothness and beauty. "Truth And Lies" is a classic, an intelligently constructed and powerful symphonic track with a compelling guitar solo by Nick. The rhythm section of Gee and Velazco provides the foundations and the Nolan's elegant keyboards the added layers of class. "360 Degrees" is a nice bright and breezy track that sees Pendragon goes with the folk. It's a track full of joy and bonhomie, a pleasant surprise extremely fun and with very high spirits. "Soul And The Sea" has a great atmosphere showcasing the band's talents where the strings and Nolan's keyboards combine effortlessly before the track breaks open with an uplifting guitar riff and a dynamic rhythm section to deliver grandeur and splendour. "Eternal Light" is a great track where once again the band have created a wonderful journey composed of epic components that combine together to deliver something quite wondrous. The inspiring chorus is divine and transcendent living up to the name. "Water" is an insouciant and a laid back track that gradually is building up as a piece with a slightly darker atmosphere, as shown so far. It has its main attraction and another excellent guitar solo. "Whirlwind" is a wistful, contemplative and nostalgic track. It's another piece dedicated to the piano and certainly another surprise for the listener. It has some chords with great influence of jazz, especially due to an excellent saxophone work. "Who Really Are We?" has a little bit of everything the band does. It's the only moment on the album that we can say is a nod to their most recent heavy albums. A song that epitomises what a truly dynamic progressive rock track should be all about. "Afraid Of Everything" closes the album in a thoughtful and slightly melancholic mood with an achingly beautiful anthemic repeated theme. It finishes with a delightful, thought provoking instrumental section. This is an extremely beautiful and emotional ending.

Conclusion: "Love Over Fear" is great Pendragon's work. Not only are there no fillers among the ten tracks, but each song succeeds confidently and supports the flow of the whole. The diversity in songwriting keeps the listening experience fresh. While we can see references of previous albums it's also full of new and pleasant surprises, being an album where it's difficult not to get carried away by the positive energy of both in its themes and its tones. Verses, choruses and instrumentals are all rich in melodies. The instrumentation is wonderful and diverse, in addition to having a varied and well-structured dynamic. This is, without any doubt, one of the highest points in the career of one of the biggest bands in the neo-prog scene. I find it hard not to please any fan of the band. This is an album not to be missed.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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