RHYS MARSH AND THE AUTUMN GHOST

Norwegian based composer and musician Rhys MARSH, in addition to various band activities, has a solo career that stretch back to 2008, with seven albums to his name so far. Following a few years of silence he returned as a recording artist at the start of 2019 with the CD "October After All", which was released through Norwegian label Karisma Records.

While those that crave challenging music most likely can disregard this album, those who enjoy atmospheric laden progressive rock explored inside a pop-rock oriented context should find a lot to enjoy on this album, and then in particular those who treasure an artists that makes good use of layered keyboards to control the ebb and flow of intensity in a song.

Rhys Marsh was born in London and now resides in Norway. He is a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer and is considered a Crossover Prog artist. He has been releasing solo albums since 2008, both under his own name and the collection of various musicians known as "The Autumn Ghost". After releasing 6 full length albums and waiting for 4 years, he released a 7th album in 2019 called "October After All" on which he performs most of the music. There are also several other artists that help him out here, including a small chorus which includes Tim Bowness (No-man), though I have a hard time picking out his unique voice.

"River" is mostly a straightforward song with vocals but with a meter of 6 / 8. The vocal harmonies in the chorus are very nice with a lush sound. "Long Way Back" starts with an interesting section using the chorus, a short sax solo, and then a non- typical vocal melody line. Where the first track was mostly standard, this one has a progressive jazz feel that is very non- standard sounding. "Golden Lullabies" continues to follow the lush and mellow sounds of the previous tracks, vocals, harmonies, synth and sax. Two minutes in, things suddenly get dark and complex with some odd percussion, but it returns to the soft sounds again later. It moves to a strange chord progression with interesting and dark harmonies during the last minute and a half.

The next tracks move away from the jazz sound to a more alternative style with unique melodies. "Ride the New Wave" is soft and straightforward on the verses, but turns to a more dramatic and tense chorus. "The Butterflies" begins with a lovely acoustic guitar with vocals coming in soon after with subdued synths. Later, Marsh hits his higher register, which is nice. This track stays mostly acoustic except for the soft keyboards and a few effects. The synths have a solo later reminiscent of ELP's acoustic / synth style. "Let it Be Known!" is heavier with stronger drums and guitar. The choral harmonies are great, but Marsh's vocals are starting to sound tired. "One Hundred Memories" features simply electric piano and solo vocals. Soft synths and rhythm comes in on the 2nd verse.

Continuing with the more alternative sound, the album continues to lose it's appeal that it had on the first 3 tracks. "The Summer Days" doesn't help this out at all as the music is sounding too similar. Without the jazz leanings that were there at the first of the album, things are just not as interesting anymore, even though there is a level of uniqueness to the songs, it's all beginning to sound stale. "22" begins with atmospheric synths, and a nice lushness returns. The vocals are a complex melody, but still have that same tired sound moving toward a "The Dream Academy" style harmony. There is an interesting sounding instrument, possible a flute or trumpet with some strange processing. The last track is the longest at 7 minutes and is the title track "(It Will Be) October After All". This is pretty much more of the same with a few sections that approach a bit more intensity, but only to fall back. A sax plays a slow solo later, but by this time, it is too little and too late.

The album definitely started off sounding quite promising as the first 3 tracks are more jazz oriented, but after that, things just seem to sort of drag. The harmonies are great and the songs are unique, but the songs don't seem to rise above the slow and depressing alternative sound with enough variance between the tracks to really discern one from another. The overall sound is good, but it is difficult to sit through this mostly slow album with very little change in mood or dynamic.

Norwegian artist Rhys MARSH has been and is involved in a number of different ventures, the most high profiled of them arguably The Opium Cartel, and he has been active in the UK and the Norwegian music scene for the last 20 or so years. Following a handful of albums recorded with the multinational unit The Autumn Ghost, "Sentiment" is the first true solo album by Marsh, and was released by Autumnsongs Records in 2014.

If you are fond of an album mixed with a warm, vintage sound, love the sound of vintage electric piano and Mellotron, have an affection for songs of a dark, haunting and emotional nature, and also tend to like bands operating somewhere within the context of modern era progressive rock as defined by artists such as Porcupine Tree, then Rhys Marsh's 2014 album "Sentiment" is one that should have your name written on it: a solid production that most likely will find favor among just about anyone who may recognize themselves in the above description.

It seems like Norway is one of the most creative locations for progressive music these days, and although Rhys Marsh was originally born in the UK, his Norwegian ensemble known as The Autumn Ghost is a unique force in the country's music scene. Showcasing a mellow and introverted style of art rock, the music heard on The Blue Hour may not sound terribly unique by description alone, but Rhys Marsh clearly directs this ensemble with an ambitious artistic vision. Although The Blue Hour isn't the most exciting release of 2012, it's an interesting little album with some truly interesting things going on.

The Blue Hour can be described as melancholic and intimate art rock with occasional leanings into jazz and post-rock territory. There are some bombastic tracks like "Wooden Heart", but generally things are kept on the more reflective side. What's likely to grab the attention of most listeners here are the unique arrangements - though 'normal' rock instruments like drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards are present, a large portion of the music is dominated by woodwind and brass instruments. From what I understand, this style of arrangement is a 'first' for Rhys Marsh, so it's even more surprising how well it works. The choice of instruments compliments the compositions perfectly, and while the songwriting doesn't excite me too much, I'll acknowledge that a lot of talent certainly went into the making of The Blue Hour.

The album does have a rather strange sounding production (the drums sound especially odd), but it doesn't detract from the overall listening experience. If anything, the raw and unpolished sound quality gives The Blue Hour more of a warm and intimate flavor. This is an album that is largely focused on creating lush atmospheres using unconventional instruments, and from that perspective, The Blue Hour is a tremendous success. Rhys Marsh and the Autumn Ghost has offered their fanbase a very solid listen for their third full-length observation, and I'll definitely recommend this to fans of original and forward-thinking art rock.

3.5 stars. Rhys Marsh's second album is more dynamic than his debut but we still get that overriding melancholic vibe with plenty of mellow music. Mattias Olsson (ANGLAGARD) is back helping out on three tracks but Nicklas Barker isn't on this one. We get female vocals on 4 of the 8 tracks and the songs are longer this time around.

"In The Afterglow" is mellow and orchestral sounding to start. It kicks in with female and male vocals. It does settle after 3 minutes but it's brief as it kicks back in with mellotron and more. "The Frightened Souls" is laid back with reserved vocals, piano and strings. "Divide In Silence" has more strings and reserved vocals as we get another mellow tune. "Nine Times Beautiful" is more dynamic with male and female vocals. The drums are prominant at times from Mattias. There's an Eastern vibe as well at times.

"The Safety Of All You Know" is relaxed with reserved vocals. We do get this laid back instrumental section from 3 minutes to after 6 1/2 minutes then the vocals return with a fuller sound. It's orchestral late. "You'll Never Fall" has this beat with mellotron as reserved vocals join in. It does get fuller. "Surrendered" is laid back with piano as fragile vocals join in followed by some atmosphere. "In Dark, In Light" is almost NO-MAN like to start. It becomes fuller as female vocals help out. Nice guitar followed by organ as the drums continue but not the vocals. Vocals are back after 5 minutes then we get a calm 6 1/2 minutes in before it turns orchestral. Vocals are back as we get a full sound again.

Another good one from Rhys and i'd rate this higher than the debut but this isn't the style of music I really enjoy.

Rhys Marsh is a UK born musician who lives in Norway. I picked up a couple of his recordings last year after reading this brief description on Greg Walker's web-site. He says : "Mellotron drenched dreamy symphonic with members of ANGLAGARD, ANEKDOTEN, WOBBLER and WHITE WILLOW". Well of course i'm going to buy this based on that description ! Lets just say after listening to this cd once I was really disappointed. Well I brought them back out after seeing he was added to this site recently and after many listenes I still feel underwelmed. This really comes across as a mellow singer-songwriter affair that is very laid back, melancholic and mature. Every song has a different lineup as guests help him out on each track. There are two guests here helping out that I was really looking forward to hearing in Nicklas Barker (ANEKDOTEN) on mellotron and Mattias Olsson (ANGLAGARD) on drums, electronics, orchestration and mellotron. Nicklas is on 3 tracks while Mattias is on 2 songs.

"Can't Stop The Dreaming" is laid back with reserved vocals, acoustic guitar, flute and strings. We do get some outbursts though. "Don't Break Your Heart" is also mellow but the mellotron courtesy of Mattias before 4 minutes is excellent. "When All's Done" is a rare energetic tune with trumpet and flute helping out. "All Light Fades" is where he is stripped down to a 3 piece. A ballad-like tune that features Mattias on mellotron, drums and orchestration. "Lit By Night" is more of the same but more majestic i'd say and we get female vocals helping out.

"I Watched, As You Disappeared" is probably my favourite and it has Nicklas on mellotron and this song is quite dreamy. "Liquorice Kiss" is an intricate sounding song with vocals. It's fuller before 1 1/2 minutes but not for long. "As I See You There" is another dreamy tune but i'm not a fan of the steel pedal that gives this a Counrty flavour. "Undone" is acoustic guitar with laid back vocals bringing NO-MAN to mind. Mellotron 3 minutes in. "Spoken" is the longest song with the biggest lineup(11 people). Probably the most ambitious track on here as well.

So this will appeal to some of you no doubt, but it's just not the style of music I enjoy.

This is the third album by the English musician based in Trondheim, Norway. Trondheim is known among other things for its very active musical scene, especially the jazz one. So it's not a wonder that someone like Rhys Marsh has settled down there. What I am more curious about is to find out if its location played a major role in the feelings expressed by our man. Because delicate and thoughtful, melancholic atmospheres habit this new album, quite close to No-Man's climates; even the leader's voice somehow evokes Tim Bowness; semi orchestral arrangements with a predilection for *lesser often used* brass and wind instruments (bass clarinet, oboe, bassoon) are a true pleasure, associated to plaintive other (pedal steel, zither) and a lot more. You will even be able to hear the difference between the mellotron and its forerunner the Chamberlin. A great album with plenty of subtle touches and fragile, languish musical drops of meditative and nostalgic, laid back character!

Rhys Marsh is an English singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist & producer who is now located in Norway. His 'multi-national orchestra', The Autumn Ghost, features members of Jaga Jazzist, Anekdoten, The National Bank, Wobbler, White Willow, Änglagård, Emmerhoff & The Melancholy Babies, Pelbo, In Lingua Mortua, The Irrepressibles & The Divine Comedy. Blue Hour is the third album by Rhys Marsh & The Autumn Ghost, and is set to be released September 11th, 2012. With this release, they have stepped into new territory ? strings and mellotrons are replaced by brass and woodwinds, as well as a new vocal style that has been simplified, using less thick harmonies but often combine male and female vocals singing in unison.

Now, I have to stop here and confess to my audience that I had a difficult time figuring out how to write about this album. I actually found it to be quite a unique musical experience (especially considering my "usual"), but despite this (maybe because of it) I found it difficult to come up with the words to describe it. After some serious writer's block, the following is what I've come up with: I hope it does this album justice. Blue Hour is an experience that I feel would best be enjoyed by turning the lights down dim, starting up your player, and lying down with your eyes closed to enjoy the whole thing. It is warm, ambient, melancholic, and very peaceful. Rhys' vocals, combined with the gentle orchestration, are very soothing and make the listener forget the stress and cares of the world outside. The compositions take their time building up and are carefully arranged, it seems. But this is not to say they are not dynamic ? there are tempo and rhythm changes throughout, as well as mood shifts. But the album as a whole has a very intimate, calming effect and is quite a beautiful experience. I would highly recommend this to Symphonic Prog fans, as well as anyone looking for an ambient experience.

Originally written for www.seaoftranquility.org