ENOUGH BLAME TO GO AROUND

I was unaware of Disconnect until I heard a track recently from their new album broadcast at Aural Moon. The track was called 'Inside Job' (an instrumental track) and I enjoyed it enough to go out and download purchase the entire album. I've gotten bored with a lot of well-known prog and have lately been spending more time checking out what the indie bands have to offer. 'Enough Blame To Go Around' is one of the most memorable albums I have heard this year. The band's songwriting style is complex enough to appease just about any prog fan, but also delivers an emotional punch in terms of lyrical style and melody. Their sound is not symphonic or metal-ish, however there are elements of heavy prog and eclectic prog to be found here. Influences of King Crimson and Porcupine Tree are found here but not at all derivative.

The opening track 'Adventures in Taxidermy' is delightfully dark both lyrically and musically and rolls nicely into the aforementioned 'Inside Job' instrumental. This is followed by the truly epic 'Falling Man', an account/observation of 9/11. This is hands down one of the best prog tracks I've heard from any band this year. There are some absolutely astounding musical breaks here, of particular note are the Middle Eastern acoustic sections of the song ? an entire world of sound you rarely hear prog bands venture into. This is followed by 'Sufficient', a seemingly straightforward track of which my appreciate continues to grow over time with its clever usage of odd meter. The album closes with another epic track 'Twisting The Knife', which while not as impactful and impressive as 'Falling Man', it features some great moments as well throughout its 18+ minute lifespan. Within it we are treated to additional influences of Pink Floyd and Steely Dan.

In Disconnect I hear a band that appears to be on the verge of breaking out from their influences and holding their own amongst the cluttered prog landscape. Their arrangements are very tight and while there are some points where additional elevation may have been possible, this does not detract from my appreciation of this album. The vocals are solid throughout, complementing the music well, quite soulful and sincere yet not quite reaching that 'next level'. From an instrumentation perspective, I have great respect for the guitar work ? which shows technical proficiency as well as truly emotive sensibility. The usage of vintage keyboards is a centerpoint to Disconnect's sound and are distributed tastefully throughout each track. The drum performance is simply fantastic ? precise, powerful and appropriate. I plan to check out the band's back catalog and look forward to their future efforst. For me, this album receives 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.