SOUNDS THAT CAN'T BE MADE

Sounds That Can't Be Made is Marillion's first album of original material since the double effort that was 2008's Happiness Is The Road Volumes 1 & 2. It seems the four year break did them good, because they returned with an album that is much more focused; Sounds That Can't Be Made is a single collection of eight tracks.

The album opens with the 17 and a half minute long "Gaza", a charged track dealing with the living conditions of the people in Gaza. The track alternates between heavier sections and more ethereal parts. There are moments which are probably about as heavy as anything Marillion has done. You can tell this a subject the band really feels for and they manage to convey both the emotion and the urgency of the situation.

"One day I'll play you the sounds that can't be made", is the opening refrain of the title track which actually sounds like about as *proggy* a song as the band does these days. I found myself tapping my foot vigourously with this one.

The album almost immediately changes direction with the almost power ballad-y "Pour My Love". It is a pleasant enough song in that style and it doesn't drag the album down, but at about six minutes an argument could be made that it goes on a minute or two longer than needed.

"Power" is a track I first heard when I saw the band play at the Opera House in Toronto back in June 2012 and he remembers thinking about it as a very serviceable album cut and that's pretty much what it turned out to be. It follows the oft-used Hogarth era pattern of building from a slow start to a crescendo before dropping back and then shifting into high gear again.

We then reach "Montreal", the second longest track on the album, which is basically a love letter to their fans in that city; there is a reason they hold their North American fan conventions in Montreal, after all. Perhaps it's because I have seen the band play "Montreal" in Montreal (twice!) that I feel a special connection to this track. It is an absolutely fantastic 14 minutes of music and, in my opinion, the anchor of the album.

The album contains two more shorter tracks: "Invisible Ink", another very serviceable album cut of post-Marbles rock music, and "Lucky Man", which is actually quite a good and memorable rock song.

Sounds That Can't Be Made ends with the third 10+ minute track, "The Sky Above the Rain", which begins as an introspective piece lead by piano.

Overall, Sounds That Can't Be Made is an excellent album that is clearly a cut above the band's previous several efforts. Some have mentioned that it is probably Marillion's best work since Marbles and quite rightly. Although it falls a bit short of being a masterpiece like some of their earlier works, the extra time the band took to make this album shows; it is a more inspired and consistent release which is well worth having in your collection.

I give it a solid 4/5 M's. Mmmm!