BROKEN SPELLS (AS JO BETH YOUNG)

When I first came across 'An Abandoned Orchid House' by Talitha Rise I was just blown away by the sheer beauty and style of Jo Beth Young. This was followed up with 'Strangers', by which time she had shortened the band name to Rise and now finally we have her first full studio album under her own name (there was a compilation of rarities in 2022). She has maintained her long-term working relationship with Peter Yates (Fields of the Nephilim) who appeared on the debut, while both bassist Jules Bangs and cellist Ben Roberts have been there since the second, so although the artist name may have changed, this really is a logical progression.

Jo has always followed her own course, none more so than with this album which shows her spreading her musical wings in a way which may actually disappoint some of her longtime fans, but it is important for an artist to be true to themselves and follow wherever the muse leads them. Here Jo is still producing the wonderful dreamscapes we have come to expect, incredibly reminiscent of Enya and Kate Bush with her amazing clear vocals, but for the most part there is less piano and there are times when she experiments with styles which have been influenced by dreamy electro and dance as it has to the more folk and progressive styles we have become used to. Mind you, she did signal what the album was going to be like with the singles she has released over the last three or four years.

This means that as I do not normally listen to some of the styles she is portraying here, as generally I do not enjoy them, it took me longer to fully get inside this momentous piece of work than I expected, but the repeated listenings soon paid off and the different styles displayed here are essential to the overall flow of the album. Her vocals are sweet, innocent, with hidden depths and emotions, and she ensures the arrangements are there to support and assist and never overpower the voice which is always at the centre of what is taking place. This is an album which needs to be played on headphones when the listener has time to give it the full attention it needs, so they can fall deep inside the magical world of Jo Beth Young.

Jo Beth Young, the etherealist, returns with her first album in her own name. Other artists have contributed musical ideas and performances, but this is Jo Beth in charge of writing, playing, singing, arranging, producing, the artwork and half the mixing. Broken Spells is a concept album built on personal lessons learned, each one illustrating the breaking of a spell once cast over the songwriter, spells broken as she experienced spiritual rebirth. In proper prog style, the album grew on me, especially with some profound songs having unusual rhythms and moving melodies. If you haven't heard her vocal chords in action before, head over to Bandcamp and give Standstill and Kinder Sea a whirl or two.

My first impressions were of haunting, simple melodies conjuring dreamy soundscapes that express pain and healing rather than melancholy. From track two onwards, there is a darkness lying beneath the waves. It works for me and that is why I am a fan. Pleasantly innovative, some of the rhythms click fully into place with subsequent listens, which is how I like it. The electronica bursting out of Broken Spells provides variations that may challenge the purists, but go with it and get with it, I say. I find the music spacious in places and almost rasping in others to great effect. Drama reverberates along the cliff edge before the angelic vocals carries one away.

Lyrics from deep in the heart of the songwriter journey through the hidden recesses of our beliefs and decision-making. I admire the aesthetics of this album's cathedral of music. From Brigid's bright stained glass windows to Ockham's Razor's dark alcoves; from Standstill's spacious nave to Kinder Sea's alter; from Lazuli's memorial to Burning's full on church organ. Don't let the gentle wolf at the door keep you out. The key to the album's soft opener is in the lyrical "Such a pretty way to die". The wonderful singing continues on from Jo Beth's previous albums, with maturing performances everywhere (vocals, songwriting, cello, guitars, beats, etc.). All is arranged for dramatic effect and it deserves the statutory three listens of any highly rated album on this website of marvels.

8 months on now from its release and Jo Beth has already moved forward to her next project, a multi-talented exercise in film-making called This Quiet Light. It promises to knit together original music and video across the theme of rural workers and their wisdom in working in tune with nature, wisdom that we are slowly losing as modern methods prevail. You can find out more as the project progresses on her webpage and her Ko-Fi site.

I had a tussle with Broken Spells over it's qualifications for essential progressive music. I would definitely say that if Kate Bush qualifies for her own ProgArchives page, then so does this artist and album. Whereas the likes of Aerial dazzled with long instrumental passages and longer songs abound in Kate's later works, Broken Spells does not boast long tracks. Yet, observing the criteria for progressive music, the album has no simple verse-chorus songs, it experiments with exaggerated dynamics in places and it is a concept album. It has added flourishes throughout and fresh guitar sounds to enhance it's messages. Allegories run rife through the lyrics and a new dive into electronica for Jo Beth diversifies onwards from her previous works. A final thumbs up to the cover artwork, which I always look to as a quick guide to whether an album has prog leanings. Indeed, an excellent addition to the collection of any fan of crossover prog. Essential? Maybe if you really love it, so 4.5 stars if that is permitted.