SOUNDS THAT CAN'T BE MADE

Marillion's love album? To an extent, it certainly is one of these records. 2012's 'Sounds That Can't Be Made' is the band's 17th studio album, and for many, it represents the genesis of what could be considered the band's most brilliant and most mature phase; it surely does for me. After the triplet of releases received with more mixed reviews ('Somewhere Else', 'Happiness Is the Road' and 'Less Is More'), the band enter the 2010s with a most gorgeous, rich, melodic and cerebrally emotional collection of new songs, showing either their most political side, or their most romantic one.

Eight striking new compositions, clocking in at around 74 minutes, 'Sounds That Can't Be Made' gives the listeners their first impression through the very elegant cover art, with the shell-like golden element in the center and the binary data on the side. Then the album begins with the 17-minute epic 'Gaza', one of the most powerful songs in the band's entire catalogue, it is also their most political one, commenting on the Gaza strip, famously through the eyes of a boy growing up there - the vivid images depicted by Steve Hogarth's divine vocal performance on this track are absolutely fascinating; The entire band, moreover, is performing dramatically well, with the weeping guitars and the cinematic keyboards, it is all working just perfectly well, as Marillion propose one of the most impressive epics of the whole decade. This one is followed by the dreamy title track, another very emotive piece, full of twists and turns, it leaves the listener in some wonderful awe, simply one of the most beautiful songs you could ever stumble upon. Here, once again, Steve Hogarth shines all along with his unprecedented vocals, the man is always living the songs, as the beauty of his singing throughout the whole record brings tears to my eyes every time. Next up is the gorgeous 'Pour My Love', another one of Marillion's masterworks, a very soothing and otherworldly experience. 'Power' is another incredibly well written song - majestic and inspiring, this song is all about the story that unfolds, told beautifully by h, who is singing his heart out on this one. It has to be mentioned that his lyrics on this album are quite cathartic, very intelligent, relatable, and exquisitely beautiful.

The 14-minute 'Montréal' is next up on the track list, another joyous, elegant and vibrant composition by the band, 'Sounds That Can't Be Made' is entirely flawless up to this point. The sixth entry on the album is 'Invisible Ink', a song that feels like a painting, quite lovely and entirely gentle, this is one of the lesser-known gems in the band's discography. 'Lucky Man' has to be the proggiest out of all the songs, with the jumpy keys and the upbeat bass playing, we could say it somehow reminisces some of those Fish albums, as well as 'Seasons End', surely a surprise given the way the rest of the record sounds. Finally, there is the 10-minute 'The Sky Above the Rain', a slow-paced love song that gives the album its very tranquil ending.

A fantastic album from start to finish, tremendously well-written and gorgeously performed, it has a really contemporary, forward-thinking edge to it, as I already said, marking the beginning of one of Marillion's most exciting phases, if not the most exciting one. Not only a recommended listen, but a mandatory one - 'Sounds That Can't Be Made' is one of the masterpieces of symphonic art rock.