PAWN HEARTS

I remember the day I bought this album; the record store I was in played it over the speakers for some reason and I remember fondly how people left the record store when the middle section of 'Man-Erg' was blasted over the speakers. Being slightly acquainted with 'Lighthouse Keepers' from before, I recognized that tune and went straight to the prog section and bought the album, which I did not regret. This is wild and dark music with constant tension to it, dramatic arrangements and many layers of unpleasant sounds that drags you into a whirlpool of stress and (sometimes) relief. 'Lemmings' lures you with a quiet opening before it demands your attention through a web of surreal and heavy sections, before it dies out into darkness at the end, while the emotional 'Man-Erg' concerns the duality of man's psyche in the most convincing and immersive way I've heard so far. One can especially hear on 'Lighthouse' a couple really menacing moments that really punctuates the plot of the song, playing out as a depressed counterpoint to the first side of the album. Compared to the previous H to He, the band excess here at studio overdubbing at times to make the whole thing sound even crazier and darker, and it's done brilliantly, especially with the highly affected lyrical delivery by vocalist Peter Hammill on top of it all and masterful creepy organ work by Hugh Banton. The effect of it should be shocking to some, but intriguing to others as it's far more uncompromising than anything KCrimson had done up to this point and it remains an one of a kind album to this day. A prog classic that should be heard by any fan of very adventurous music in general.