PROMISES OF HOPE

I first came across Dave Bandana years ago when he was in Salander, followed him to his journeys with Birzer Bandana before he formed The Bardic Depths and released the debut album back in 2020. His colleague Brad Birzer was still involved, but he had brought in a group of stellar musicians and taken a huge step up in every way. Now The Bardic Depths are back with the second album, and this feels far more like a group affair as opposed to a project. History professor Birzer has again worked with Dave on lyrics to much of the material, and the core musicians have been brought back from last time, namely Peter Jones (Camel/Tiger Moth Tales/ Red Bazar), Gareth Cole (Paul Menel/ Fractal Mirror) and Tim Gehrt (The Streets/ Steve Walsh). There are a cast of thousands in terms of guests (especially for backing vocals), but it is the core quartet who share the vast majority of the workload, with others being brought in to add additional nuances and layers as opposed to taking on key roles.

There are times when the music is quite Floydian, with "The Burning Flame" sounding as if it could have come from 'Wish You Were Here' with delicate keyboards and a wonderfully restrained guitar solo, while at others they are more into the crossover genre as opposed to symphonic. Whereas the debut album was also viewed in some ways as the third Birzer Bandana release, there is no doubt that what we have here now is a band very much performing on their own terms and with their own identity. Like most people in the prog scene, I am a massive fan of Peter Jones and what he has already achieved within the genre, but this is a band where he has little input into the actual songwriting and is onboard for his skills as a musician and singer, which means some of the pressure is off and there is no doubt he relishes the opportunity, with a saxophone lead on the instrumental "Colours and Shapes" (one of only two songs where he gets a songwriting credit) which is simply beautiful, dynamic and full of power.

Robin Armstrong (Cosmograf) has again been involved as a co-producer (as well as dropping in musically here and there), and he has worked with Dave to create an environment where the guys have been able to express themselves and allow the band to truly grow as a unit. This is by far the best album I have heard from Mr. Bandana over the years, and I am truly looking forward to see what comes of this band in the future.

THE BARDIC DEPTHS returns with a new line up for this second album "Promises Of Hope", the main innovation being the presence as a full member of Peter JONES, Robin ARMSTRONG co-producing the disc and intervening as an additional musician.

The synopsis of the album was written by the American history professor Brad BIRZER co-founder of THE BARDIC DEPTHS (and co-composer of the majority of the songs), it describes the pangs of suicide and their possible redemption. Nine titles for just over an hour of music are on the menu. It should also be noted that this "Promises of Hope" is dedicated to the memory of David LONGDON, who died accidentally and too soon.

Our meal begins with "And She Appeared", one of the most energetic tracks on the album halfway between progressive and pop prog, a catchy track that makes you want to take a few dance steps, frequentable without however, cry genius (8/10). "Regal Pride" follows this easy-to-listen appetizer, a very cool "down" tempo also popping with a nice saxi motif (7/10) but a bit too repetitive for my taste then the long "Consumed" and its almost eight minutes with a Celtic connotation (Peter JONES' Penny Whistle being no stranger to it), melodic rock more than progressive rock, a term also claimed by Dave BANDANA himself, one of my favorite pieces from the album (9/10).

My favorite will be the following "The Burning Flame", a slightly mysterious track at its start, little and superbly sung (Peter JONES obviously), carried by the solo guitars of Kevin McCORMICK first then of Gareth COLE, the first beauty in music it is there (10/10). Full colors and shapes, saxophone as if it were raining, only Peter JONES is capable of such a performance on the instrument, a top-of-the-range and altogether adventurous instrumental range (9/10). "Why Are You Here?" what follows, sax always in the preamble but with vocals, a piece that I personally and subjectively find a little soft, fortunately enhanced by the work of the six strings in the middle, correct without more (7/10).

The two shortest titles of the album now with first of all "Returned" with an oriental tendency, more pop than prog, interesting without being a peak either; note the metronomic drumming driven by Tim GEHRT, drummer of the group STREETS (Steve WALSH) at the dawn of the eighties (8/10), then "The Essence" which is frankly inspired by the same period with a flavor A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS for diehards who know (the guitar like the rhythmic pair and even the vocal intonations that could come from Mike SCORE's throat!), I like it a lot but I'm not impartial on this one... . (9/10).

The end clap with "Imagine", the longest title on the disc, almost ten minutes, introduced on the church organ by Richard KREUGER before the appearance of the mellotron in powerful pads (Paolo LIMOLI) coupled with the piano of the same man and the lyrical guitar of Gareth COLE, we will not forget Peter's cheerful saxophone (again and always) which sends this totally progressive piece into another dimension, well sung by Dave BANDANA and Peter JONES and which ends like it started with a short church organ score (10/10).

The grumpy will say that THE BARDIC DEPTHS didn't invent anything, which I agree on, but it's so pleasant and well put together that forgiveness is in order.

THE BARDIC DEPTHS returns with a new line up for this second album "Promises Of Hope", the main innovation being the presence as a full member of Peter JONES, Robin ARMSTRONG co-producing the record and acting as an additional musician.

The album's synopsis was written by American history professor Brad BIRZER, co-founder of THE BARDIC DEPTHS (and co-composer of the majority of the tracks), it describes the horrors of suicide and their possible redemption. Nine titles for a little over an hour of music are on the menu. Let us also specify that this "Promises of Hope" is dedicated to the memory of David LONGDON who accidentally died too soon.

Our meal begins with "And She Appeared", one of the most energetic pieces of the album halfway between progressive and prog pop, a catchy piece which makes you want to sketch a few dance steps, frequentable without for all that shouting genius (8/10). "Regal Pride" follows this easy listening opening, a very cool "down" tempo popping also with a nice sax motif (7/10) but a bit too repetitive for my taste then the long "Consumed" and its almost eight minutes with Celtic connotations (the Penny Whistle of Peter JONES being no stranger to it), melodic rock more than progressive rock, a term also claimed by Dave BANDANA himself, one of my favorite pieces from the album (9/10).

My favorite will be the following "The Burning Flame", a slightly mysterious track in its beginning, sparsely and superbly sung (Peter JONES obviously), carried by the solo guitars of Kevin McCORMICK first then Gareth COLE then, the first beauty in music it is there (10/10). Full colors and shapes, saxophone like it was raining, only Peter JONES is capable of such a performance on the instrument, a high-end and altogether adventurous instrumental range (9/10). "Why Are You Here?" which follows, sax still in the preamble but with singing, a piece that I personally and subjectively find a little sluggish, fortunately enhanced by the work of the six strings in the middle, correct nothing more (7/10).

The two shortest tracks on the album now with firstly "Returned" with an orientalizing tendency, more pop than prog, interesting without being a peak either; note the metronomic drumming driven by Tim GEHRT, drummer of the group STREETS (Steve WALSH) at the dawn of the eighties (8/10), then "The Essence" which is frankly inspired by the same period with a flavor A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS for diehards who know (the guitar like the rhythm pair and even the vocal intonations which could come from Mike SCORE's throat!), I like it a lot but I'm not impartial on this one... .(9/10).

The end clap with "Imagine", the longest track on the record, almost ten minutes, introduced on the church organ by Richard KREUGER before the appearance of the mellotron in powerful layers (Paolo LIMOLI) coupled with the piano of the same man and the lyrical guitar of Gareth COLE, we will not forget the (again and always) cheerful saxophone of Peter which sends this totally progressive piece into another dimension, well sung by Dave BANDANA and Peter JONES and which ends as it began with a short church organ score (10/10).

Grumpy people will say that THE BARDIC DEPTHS didn't invent anything, which I agree with, but it's so pleasant and well put together that forgiveness is in order.