A FEAST OF CONSEQUENCES

After six years of absence from the studio, Scottish progressive rock singer Fish has returned with a startling level of inspiration in the form of 2013's A Feast of Consequences. Fish's first album since 2007's Thirteenth Star was released after experiencing events that would be nothing less than traumatic for most people - going through both the end of a marriage and a throat cancer scare in a narrow window of time can't be easy, but as we saw on Marillion's Clutching at Straws, Fish's personal struggles often inspire some of his strongest work. A Feast of Consequences once again demonstrates this to be true.

The album shows Fish continuing to mature the sound that he has been toying with for most of his solo career. Sophisticated art rock characterized by melodic songwriting, witty lyricism, and influences from folk music is the name of the game on A Feast of Consequences, and although most listeners will probably label this as a prog album, the lengthy "High Wood" suite is the only segment here that feels progressive to me in any traditional sense. It's not important, though, as even the ballads here are well-delivered and musically engaging. "Blind to the Beautiful" and "Other Side of Me" may not be the most bombastic tracks in Fish's catalogue, but their pervading feeling of introspection make for fine examples of what ballads are truly capable of.

Fish's voice has mellowed over the years, and although he doesn't possess the soaring range that he once did, his performance on A Feast of Consequences has a soothing timbre that suits his musical explorations well. There really isn't much to complain about when talking about an album of this quality, and if you're a fan of Fish's solo career, you'll have no trouble appreciating what he has to offer this time around. It's good to have you back, Derek!