SPOCK'S BEARD

Spock's Beard's self-titled ninth studio album shines with a renewed sense of creativity, following up on what is often seen as the weakest entry in the band's catalogue - 'Octane'. Set for a return to their progressive rock roots but not fully abandoning the more straightforward rock compositions from the preceding studio releases, the band had composed one of the longest albums in their discography, an important release that captures Spock's Beard returning to form and finally capturing once again that magical creative spark, that fine progressive edge mixed up with the humour and the adventurous playing that had captivated a particular audience in the late 90s/early 2000s. A self-titled album usually serves to be a representation of a band's identity, intention, or musical direction and this expansive and varied 2006 release does the job quite well, and even if it is not a perfect prog album per se, it is a very well-done, fun and enjoyable album packed with great music and memorable tracks.

Just look at the album opener 'On a Perfect Day', a song that has to be one of the signature recordings of the NDV-fronted era of Spock's Beard, as this song has the energy, feel and musical extravagance of the classic SB yet it does not compromise on modern production values and sounds. 'Skeletons at the Feast' is a mesmerizing instrumental, one of the band's strongest offerings in general in my humble opinion, while 'Is This Love' is an interesting and powerful short entry. 'All That's Left' is a good but more mellow song and its mood is continued on the 11-minute mini-epic 'With Your Kiss', a song that is more memorable for its rampant second half, really solid writing with fine vocals, excellently crafted melodies and masterful playing. The album then goes on to lose some of its steam as the middle part is definitely the weakest, just to be redeemed by the four-part suite 'As Far As the Mind Can See' and 'Rearranged', tremendous tracks that expand on that ecstatic and proggy sound of the album's first couple of tracks, with the final track serving as a great album closer, melodic and well-produced.

'Spock's Beard' has to be a much underrated and overlooked album from the band's catalogue, perhaps because of the time of its release, perhaps because of its length, but this album carries that early SB spirit and "rearranges" it in a very modern and compelling way, definitely a big improvement over 'Feel Euphoria' and 'Octane'.