SHIBBOLETH

It is probably fair to say that over the years I have not been TK's biggest fan, so when this arrived in the post I was in no rush to put it in the player. However, a long drive home one day gave me the opportunity to listen to this all the way through in one sitting. But even from the first delicate notes and drum introduction of "The Picture Slave" I felt that something quite dramatic had changed either in the music or in my appreciation of it. There is a feeling of sense of purpose ? the band knows what they want to achieve and are going to get there, no matter what. This is complex prog with the entire band linking in at a very high level indeed. This hearkens back not to the heady days of neo-prog but further back to the time of bands like ELP where musical ability and a lack of knowledge or caring of boundaries made the prog scene so vibrant and exciting. There is more than a hint of jazz (particularly in some of the keyboards), and one is kept looking for the next stage.

The one thing that the band now needs to consider is whether or not they need to become one of those very rare beasts, an instrumental prog outfit. It isn't that Amy's vocals are poor, just that for most of this album there is no room for her, and even when she makes an appearance the vocals aren't as high in the mix as they might be. But, this does give the music a different edge to many.

This album has certainly caused me to have a major rethink of TK, and I am sure that many more progheads will be turned onto the band by this superb album. With one track nearly twenty-four minutes in length there is something here for everyone, with enough twists and turns to make this constantly interesting. This is an album that I have really enjoyed and which has made me look forward to the next one, which will get onto my player with far more alacrity. For more details visit the web site at www.thieveskitchen.co.uk.