BRAVE NEW WORLD

The sequel to CHASING LIGHT, finds the protaganist on a brand new homeworld that is both strange and inspiring. The feelings of loneliness, regret and fear are coexisting with the thoughts of hope, optimism and seeking a new life. ​ B4tF takes steps to present a more sci-fi/prog journey, cinematic and emotional as the music gets a bit more adventurous and shades darker. ​ BRAVE NEW WORLD starts the cinematic theme with a swell of spacey synths that introduce the album with epic intention. The first section of the song is the arrival of the traveller to this new place, All instrumental, the theme follows David's delayed guitars as they swim in mellotron space. The middle section sets the sci-tone for the album. Telling the story of being somewhere, but not sure how you feel about it. Fear, excitement, loneliness, determination, all are felt as the traveller begins the journey. Kenny's lonely vocal captures the emotional state of the character. Finally reprised by the intro theme returning to signify the album is afoot! ​ BREATHE is considered to be one of the more accessible songs on the album. Making a loud statement about the time is now to let go, to allow for new travels, its a personal declaration that this is the now. Pursue the path. David's 12 string rickenbacker adds a Beatle/Harrison flair, and the tingly mandolin drives the verses. Kenny sings the chorus with a solo vocal, raising the intensity each time he reaches that point in the song. The climax is the go moment, where everything erupts to a high energy anthem. ​ THE SHELTERING SKY is a very important lyrical moment on the album. The song was transformed by David's gentle Pink Floyd-like guitar motif during the first section of the song. Kenny sings the pensive lyrics and reflects on how life passes us by. Time cannot stop. There are limitations to the number of days we have. The lyrics were inspired by the book The Sheltering Sky. The theme of the story is about finite time, mortality. A key motif lyrically is in the middle section, "who can find a past?" section. This motif is repeated in the last part of the album again, as it really represents the questions the traveller faces. Special listeners of our music may notice that this lyric is also in PARALLEL LINES, a single released last summer...as that song was intended to be on the album and continue the lyrical connection.Kenny gives an emotional vocal performance, going from reflective to declaring his feelings up unto the end section where Kenny shouts his desire to absorb all that we can. David creates a cacophony of guitars in the final section, that swirl and dazzle the spectrum. ​ ZENITH is the first single off of the album. Primarily due to it's representing both accessibility and the unusual feel of the new songs. In an odd time signature of 5/4, and then 7/8 for the chorus, the song has an angular approach. The bass guitar is the tonal guidepost for the verses, and Kenny delivers lyrics that demonstrate the need to keep climbing over obstacles. Pushing the limits to reach a goal. Getting over the top, to get to the other side. David's guitars are floating and meteoric, dashing from one side to the other. the song features 12string acoustic guitars, a fragmented moog solo, and a high speed frantic lead guitar outro by David that leaves a resonance to savor. ​ CITY OF THE SUN is one of two songs that changed the course of the album. 20 or so songs were written and in progress, this song came along, and the feeling and presentation just inspired Patric and he wrote the rest of the album in weeks. Discarding the previous set of songs. This song is often regarded as the favorite track, it has three distinct sections, the first being in 9/8, the lamenting melodies sing of what we all want. We all want things to be what they cannot be. We still hope for this. But things don't always work out the way we hope. The middle section erupts with a Fripp-Zep like riff. The marching pace returns to 4/4, and the voices lecture again about how time goes by, and once something is done, its over. Ominous choral vocals send this sentiment as Kenny and Patric provide the dense vocals. The final section is the realization that things will be what they are, face them, move on to your goal. In this case, the proverbial city in the sun. What that means to each of us. The song rises to a crescendo and then drifts in to a single lonely tron string line. ​ AZIMUTH is about setting your direction. Letting the past go. Facing the pain. And going for the city. Another use of the band's moniker in the lyric..."I built for the future, but the future didn't last". The song is brief, and set between two long epic songs, to give a bit of respite, energy and gear up the listener. It jangles with a Genesis and Beatle bounce. The keyboard riff is played by PETER FITHIAN who is the B4tF live keyboardist, he guests on the song he calls his favorite of all B4tF songs! ​ DISTANT LAND is the epic. Written by Kenny, worked up to this state by Patric. Embellished to sci-fi magic by David. The new writing that inspired Patric left the Kenny penned songs from the first set abandoned. But looking for a way to get Kenny a writing credit, Patric looked through Kenny's ideas and Distant Land stood out. Kenny began finishing it with the new idea of being on the album, wrote the incredible vocal melodies and lyrics, and then sent to Patric and David to work it up accordingly. The song is in multiple sections, the first is the reflection of the traveller, facing the journey to hopefully find the destination, the city of the sun. The second section is the firey admission that the pain is there, the scars, the past haunt. But focus is on the new sky, the new sun and the new land. The middle section, Overlander, is another cinematic moment that creates the image of the crossing the landscape, a pulse beats as steps seem to be taken, winds blow, the guitar is gentle and reflective. David added lovely guitar touches to give the piece a true sci- fi feel. This all explodes in the the climactic section back in odd time, and now a choral presentation of voices driving the determined traveller onward. This is the obvious Yes-moment on the album, as the rickenbacker bass rumbles a very Squire-like bass line and the vocals stab in a very Yes-like manner. The song reprises the middle section, and emotionally peaks as if falling over the edge...the final reflective section is again where the motif lyric is revisited. Patric and Kenny have a gentle two part harmony moment, fittingly. And then washed away by a space wave of David's guitars pulsing and chiming. ​ LINE OF SIGHT is the other song that changed the course of the album. The song was tweaked after N.Peart died, and the intro was purposely adapted to nod to the trio, and to the great Professor. This was done at the very last moment after the album was already done. The song has a power riff and then David's counter Howe-like riffs to create an energy and tension, representing the journey. The verses are gentle, and a bit eerie, Kenny captures the emotion that the traveller is feeling after a long quest. The mid section shows David as he lets go. The lead in this part is simply gorgeous. Slow, fast, bends, and then to the crystalline needling that underlies as the mellotrons build back in to the main riff. During the last verses, the traveller realizes that he has reached the City. And that answer may lie ahead. The final coda of the song, and thus the album is a huge vocal choral that chants encouragement. "If you want to believe it's your world, believe it's your world!" is the final sentiment. Declare that you will make this your world, and make the most of it. The choral chants drift to a non-lyrical 'lie lie la la" section that hopefully captures the elation of finally getting there. The last orchestrated lines of the song, drift with meloncholy as they reprise the intro section of the beginning of the album. Implying a cycle... ​ ​ The album is dedicated to the memory of the Professor, Neil Peart. Who not only was the most influential rock drummer in history, but also a huge influence on Patric and how he writes lyrics, uses themes, and honors the importance of words. "I found that Neil has been my biggest influence to how i approach lyrics and theme, and i don't think i realized it until he passed away."--Patric When Neil passed away, parts of the title track BRAVE NEW WORLD and the last song LINE OF SIGHT were re-written to literally and sonically honor The Professor. So listen out for the homage, it was purposeful. And the subtitle for the intro piece was renamed VAPOR TRAIL to again honor NP. ​ Peace to the Earth and the Earthlings aboard. ​

Competent guitar-based prog rock from Texas. Interestingly, the band chooses the long-playing song format to express its musical ideas more than not. Also, the band chooses to use some quite simple effects and techniques when recording their tracks.

1. "Brave New World" (11:51) nice Blade Runner-like atmospherics to open the album. A U2 guitar and PETER GABRIEL-like drum palette join in during the second minute and continue to construct and fill in the song's form (with the help of guitars and excellent bass) and flow until the fifth minute when we see a shift into a more spacious and circumspect accompaniment to Kenny Bissett's lead vocal. Kenny's voice reminds me very much--both in style and effect--of that of the lead vocalist for Dutch band FOURTEEN TWENTYSIX's Lighttown Closure (a very CURE-like album and sound). HIs voice is a bit of an acquired taste--which, after three listens or so, become accepted as part of the baseline fabric of the B4tF sound. (21.5/25)

2. "Breathe" (5:34) a little Tears for Fears and The Cure feel to this one. Nice drums (all programmed?). (8.5/10)

3. "The Sheltering Sky" (7:55) A song that tries hard on many levels with layers of effects and atmospherics but, for some reason, just never completely gels. It's decent, and interesting, just not Earth-shattering or ground-breaking. The vocals (both lead and harmonized background) I think are one of its weaknesses. (13/15)

4. "Zenith" (7:15) sounds like it could come straight off of a Kevin Moore CHROMA KEY album.(13/15)

5. "City of the Sun" (9:54) great PETER GABRIEL/FOURTEEN TWENTYSIX-like opening continues being quite engaging when Kenny's vocals enter. Probably my favorite song on the album. Its main weakness is in the relative monotony of its flow and development. (17.5/20)

6. "Azimuth" (4:08) a quite straightforward song structure which is made somewhat more interesting by unusual sound choices from the various guitars. Sounds like a VON HERTZEN BROTHERS theme. (8.25/10)

7. "Distant Land" (15:18) slide guitar in constant whale-motion in the background is the distinctive feature in the opening section of this other CHROMA KEY-like song. Awesome instrumental passage beginning at the end of the fourth minute in which David's guitar turns to lead and the band takes off in a nice fast pace. The atmospheric slowdown for the eighth, ninth, and tenth minutes is nice in a PINK FLOYD/LUNATIC SOUL kind of way. Nice YES-like section with smooth group choral-style vocals in the twelfth minute is, unfortunately, spoiled by Kenny's lead in the thirteenth. The final two-and-a-half minutes feel like industrial sci-fi soundtrack music within which multi-voiced vocals are implanted. My second favorite song on the album. (26.25/30)

8. "Line of Sight" (12:32) opens with a sound and feel that reminds me of the energy and in-your-face music of Swedish band BROTHER APE's 2010 masterpiece, A Rare Moment of Insight. Over the course of its twelve-and-a-half minutes my assessment changes little (though B4tF's vocals are nowhere in the same league as Brother Ape)--though again I am quite often reminded of Dutchman Chris Van der Linden's FOURTEEN TWENTYSIX project. Nice PETER GABRIEL-like drum programming throughout--and YES-like vocals in the final two minutes. Nice ending to the album. My third top three song. (21.5/25)

There is an unmistakable 80s-ishness to the music here--especially the stylings and treatments of the vocals. I also found myself often reminded of Kevin MOORE's CHROMA KEY project of 1998-2004. Nice music but not quite top tier. There is something not quite right in the recording, engineering, and/or mixing of the vocals. Perhaps they need to have a professional engineer in a professional studio with an outside-the-band producer involved in their recording projects in order to provide some objective inputs.

B/four stars.

Watch out Peplum!!! For yours truly who is not a big fan of albums that exceed fifty-five or even sixty minutes, well for once, I did violence to myself with this second album from the Texans of BUILT FOR THE FUTURE which is approaching seventy-five minutes ! This album is neither more nor less than the sequel to "Chasing Light" released in the summer of 2015 (five years already) and which tells the journey of life, continuity if you prefer. "Brave New World", welcome our traveler to a new world. We have between our ears a concept album about time, the past, suffering, hope and the path that remains to be traveled to reach bliss.

Note that BUILT FOR THE FUTURE is a trio in the studio but becomes a sextet on stage. The iconography of the album is the work of Michal KLIMPCZAK who brings his futuristic and dystopian eye to what a new world could be... We cannot ignore the fact that this album is dedicated to the memory of Neil PEART, one of the greatest drummers of all time if not the greatest. As Patric FARRELL says: Thank you Neil.

From the introduction of the inaugural and eponymous track, it's a firework of keyboard drifts of all kinds, it explodes everywhere in the speakers, an energetic PINK FLOYD like never before mixed with the ELOY of "Inside" or " Floating" and metal elements for the guitars which could come for example from NINE INCH NAILS, so solid. A title little sung given its length, which will not be the case for the following, conclusion which is not hasty, it starts very strong (10/10). With "Breathe" we are faced with a shorter title, more radio calibrated (the COLDPLAY of the first years is not very far away), which could be a hit on the airwaves, carried by the excellent vocal work of Kenny BISSETT and a few tweaks electronic well in tune with the times, very pleasant without being innovative (9/10).

"The Sheltering Sky" which follows, is a slightly popish mid tempo (there is nothing pejorative about it) which also borrows from PINK FLOYD augmented by a very high-flying performance from David PENA's Rickenbacker guitar, when we say that a six-string swirls, we have here the most beautiful example (9/10). I don't skip the whole disc, however, because it's well supplied with varied guitars, 12-string acoustics, electrics and soloists (7/10). Of a completely different caliber presents itself to us, "City of the Sun" and its almost ten minutes, cornerstone of the work of the opinion even of Patric FARRELL, the piece which triggered an increase of inspiration to complete the project in its entirety in just a few weeks, listen carefully to the multiplicity of guitars, it's a bit messy but it's seriously mind-blowing, the musical model is to be found on the side of George HARRISON solo (for the Hindu limit passages) or the dirigible of PLANT, PAGE, JONES and BONHAM, no less (9/10).

The short "Azimuth" is also radiophonic like "Breathe", filled with multiplied choirs with a beautiful synthesizer motif in the background played by Peter FITHIAN, live keyboardist of the group from SAN ANTONIO (8/10). We have the two longest titles left, "Distant Land" first of all and its quarter of an hour, flooded with spatial keyboards on a background of sharp guitars, we are there frankly in a psyche spatiotemporal tunnel of the most beautiful effect (the first four minutes are in this respect a real treat as well as the instrumental passage between the seventh and tenth minute), with particular work on the voices, it's soft, it's violent, it's also complex, just imagine what could give the meeting between the ELOY of the seventies and the YES of "90125" or "Big Generator" with this Rickenbacker which carries the whole, beware a range not easy to listen to given its extent, personally I I found the part between the eleventh and the thirteenth minute relatively indigestible to remain polite but it is part of a whole, so ...... A piece to listen to many times before eventually taming it (7/10 ).

BFTF's new journey ends with "Line of Sight" THE piece more particularly inspired by and dedicated to Neil PEART, the one where Patric FARRELL put all his heart into it to end this "Brave New World" in style and success is at the rendezvous, a piece divinely sung by Kenny BISSETT, keyboards and guitars share the spotlight throughout the twelve minutes, a catchy piece moreover, with again these multiple choirs (which can annoy in the event of overconsumption I admit it), and a synthesized end worthy of the German school of the seventies, good and beautiful work (9/10).

In summary, if you take the time to listen to this long disc, the overall satisfaction will be there, you wills ears will not regret it, little reminder all the same, memorizing the pieces is not easy..