FRIEND OF ALL CREATURES

An offshoot of Spock's Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals have released their fifth record, Friend of All Creatures, on Giant Electric Pea (GEP) Records. This is their first record not to be released on Inside Out Music (who seem to be trending in a progressive metal direction). I must confess to having never heard a P- SA album (and I'm no expert on the music of Ted Leonard), but after seeing several positive reviews of this release, I decided to check it out.

This album really grew on me. It is a very intimate listen (it does not sound good on headphones; a good pair of speakers a required), but upon repeated listens, I was amazed at how it weaved into my brain. My favorite track has not changed between listens?the opener, "Future Perfect World", which features an incredibly catchy chorus with a great and unique melody over a common chord progression. "Another Holy Grail" follows it up with a great introductory climax into a Moody Blues-style groove.

Two short pieces, "Down the Darkest Road" and "In My Dying Days", follow the first two tracks up. The keyboards on these tracks are not the best selections, but I find Leonard's vocals and guitar work to stand out on these tunes in particular. Another longer track is next: "The Seventh Sleeper", with funky guitar towards the beginning.

The album closes with "Days We'll Remember", a poppier tune with a catchy chorus, and "Words of Love Evermore", with a great atmospheric intro. I find the four longer pieces to be a bit too long. I also wish that Dave Meros' bass was featured more prominently in the mix (as it cannot be heard much outside of the middle section of "Another Holy Grail"), but apart from that, this record really did grow on me. Perhaps a deep dive into this catalog is due on my part. (My actual rating is 3.75/5 stars)

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