INVISIBLE TOUCH

To a progressive rock fan, INVISIBLE TOUCH seems to be the nadir of their discography; out of all of the albums I've heard so far, that seems to be true to me. There's nothing on this album that makes me want to come back and spin it again. It was released in 1986, and it sounds like 1986 and stuck in 1986.

Tracks like the title tune, ''Land of Confusion'' and ''In Too Deep'' either are disgusting on first listen or quickly wear out their welcome into meh territory. Most songs are filled with ''icepick-through-the-skull'' (not a good description) synths and annoying gated drums. Perfect for the 80's, but over twenty years later it sounds like mush.

Thinking ''Tonight, Tonight, Tonight'' is a prog song by length is just wishful thinking; it's an annoying dance tune stuck on repeat (maybe not literally, but it feels as such) for nine minutes. ''Domino'' offers a glimpse of something decent in the first half (keyboards sound decent this time), but by the second part, it's the same old song and dance.

The pop isn't what makes INVISIBLE TOUCH annoying to the ears, it's the way it was produced and it's ''with the times'' sound. I got lucky and had a few free listens because my uncle used to own this album on vinyl. This at best looks awkward in a prog collection, although if you can avoid this record, do so.