ETERNAL

This was my initial introduction to Martin Kennedy's ALL INDIA RADIO, a discovery that happened, as per my norm, by pure, unadulterated research, according to the famous method made into an anthem by the Fixx: "One Step Leads to Another". As I daily scour my allied sources (Lazland, Prog Archives and Prog Critique) I landed on the latter's review of Kilbey/Kennedy of 2022 album :The Strange Life of Persephone Nimbus". Obviously, I knew full well the name of Steve Kilbey, having a slew of The Church releases as well his solo ventures such as Hex, and I always admired his craft as well as his amazing voice. Martin Kennedy was hitherto unknown to me. So, I focused in on this All India Radio project and realized that this artist has been putting out quite a few albums, and I pressed the BUY button on Bandcamp to get this Eternal album and see what the fuss was about! A few hours later, I purchased 6 more of his works , completely ecstatic of what I was hearing. Now, I named my site PROG ROGUE because of a visceral dislike of labelling that goes against my values of tossing everything absurdly into a convenient common pot, though branding is quite important in order to create artistic consistency. Martin Kennedy's music has been "labelled" with a myriad of tags that may or may not have any merit as progressive music for me has always been the distinction between songs by a vocalist and a backing band that needs not to overpower the artist (often pop) and the opposite, where each instrumentalist is up front and center with their talent and push the common envelope which may or may not include the voice and lyrics. All India Radio has been stamped with everything from Math Rock/Post Rock to electronic, ambient, trip-hop, down tempo space dream pop, as well as pretty much any other sticky tag remaining in the tool kit. I say its just gorgeous music. Period. My first and captivating foray was 'Eternal' from 2019, and it hit me square between the ears with a powerful surge of happiness. A heady mixture of cinematographic Pink Floyd/ Tangerine Dream / Kraftwerk coalescing into a contemporary sheen is how I describe the silky-smooth intro "The Hidden One", loaded up with shimmering wafts of electronic glitter, slide guitar excursions and a steady electronic gait, with a vocoder greeting. Pretty much from that opening move, I was surrendering to this incredible music as my musical three letters are nor ELP, UFO, ABC, GTR, or XTC, but rather the odd sounding concept of PAM , which stands for Passion, Atmosphere and Melody. All three are present in abundance on each track, with a savvy bass guitar groove setting the stage, helping forge the majestic melody, such as on "Moviestar ", or the twangy guitar sparkle on "the Edge of Infinity", which has a sci-fi in Kansas feel, perhaps ideal for a cameo on the vivid "Tales from the Loop" movie series. The perfect progression between tracks demonstrate a clever continuity that is the pure hallmark of what a progressive electronic album should be. The celestial "The Shining Darkness" conjures so many pleasing images, as the gentle bass rumbles forward, piano glitter in tow, cradled by some massive mellotron waves that ebb and flow, like a sonic velvet carpet ride into the horizon. Proclaiming "Eggs, sausage, chips and beans and a tea" on the imposing "Villa of the Mysteries" shows a delicious sense of humour as well, keeping the mood well-fed and interesting, as the choir electronics raise the roof on the house.

The ambient interlude "The Language of Triangles" and its ominous synthesized storm cloud acts as a preparatory change of pace for the next set of tunes that really elevate this release to the loftiest height, as the incredible "Prismatism" evokes the image of Dark Side of the Moon's legendary logo, the bellowing saxophone rolling over the floating keyboard mat, the firm pulse and the tingling guitar phrasing , with a dash of synthesized vocalizations. Brilliance personified! Another balance intermezzo to kick off the final two whoppers (with three bonus tracks to follow) and we arrive at the masterful "End Game", which is a reprise of the second track "Moviestar" and its stellar melody, surely one of the finest heard in quite a while. The feel is somewhat reminiscent of William Orbit's earlier Strange Cargo series electronic work, highly visual for the mind, a soundtrack for some silver screen (how old fashioned of me!) extravaganza, with some amazing keyboard scintillation. The epic 10 minute+ "Immortality Part 1" slams the collective fists on the proverbial golden buzzer, as its sweepingly grandiose main theme devastates the senses, achingly gorgeous and intense, sounding upon the first listen as a long lost dormant melody in one's psyche. Voice effects relating to "the machines taking over" and a completely unexpected soaring operatic aria that has a hint of Clare Torry's legendary solo on "the Great Gig in the Sky", but when that massive melody returns for another bow, it finishes me off with abject surrender!

Early versions of "End Game" and "the Hidden One", as well as "Eye" complete the shattering of my fragile crystal vase of any doubt and that is when I went on a purchasing All India Radio album rampage. I intend to keep on dialling All India Radio , transmitters permitting.

5 Galaxies