USE AND ORNAMENT

Wow, this totally blows me away. This is perhaps one of the finest new prog rock bands I have heard in a long time. Regal Worm is a Jarod Gosling project, he was in I Monster and Skywatchers, plus for the progheads, he appeared in the last Henry Fool CD, Men Singing. Unbelievably great and complex prog, influenced by the Canterbury scene, as well as King Crimson and perhaps a bit of Gentle Giant. Seriously, this music doesn't stay in one place for very long, although there are a couple more straightforward pieces. Lots of organ, Mellotron, flute, sax, vintage synths (including an EMS Synthi AKS), Mellotron simply all over the place making this totally essential for the tron fan as well as adventurous progheads! This is just a bit over an hour long, but nothing that overstays its welcome. Many of these songs bear twisted and lengthy titles, no doubt inspired by Hatfield & the North, like "6:17 PM The Aunt Turns Into an Ant". But this is not actually a Canterbury album, although there's that influence, there are plenty of outside influences too. The occasional Fripp-like guitar brings the Crimson comparison. I am no kidding that I seriously believe this might end up near the top of my all-time favorite prog releases. I get a kick off the end of "The Ant Turns into an Ant" where they do a short folk-influenced piece that goes: "At the end of my rainbow / I wanna find a pot of gold / Don't wanna find a crock of s@#t / At the end of my rainbow" showing the less serious side of the band. Of course, some might think this was a bad mistake for the band, but it's short, and the rest is simply fantastic prog of the first class. Plus I love the production. Lots of prog in recent years sound like it was knocked off a PC and seem sterile. Not here. It's a bit over an hour long, but never outstays its welcome, which I really love, because too often in the last 20-25 years, there's been too much of a habit of bands (prog and non-prog alike) trying to cram in as much as they can on one CD, but it's a real chore to listen to as it's obvious they only have enough good material for half that length, if that much. Not with Regal Worm. Much of this has this wonderful retro thing going on, only a couple parts have a more contemporary feel. This music is largely instrumental, and I often forget there are occasional vocals, female and male vocals. Highly recommended for the more adventurous progheads out there!