HEROIC MATERIALS

Robin Armstrong's Cosmograf is back just a year after 'Rattrapante', a decent-sounding concept album about time that ended up being well-received although it didn't tread on any new ground for what concerns the project in general. This new release happens to be yet another ambitious concept album, focusing on the story of a retired WWII Spitfire pilot who "laments a lost golden era, but reflects that the human race must change in order to preserve our existence on Earth." It is intriguing to see Armstrong tackling these larger than life (and sometimes maybe existential) topics, in reference to this and the previous more recent releases, but this certainly is one of the building blocks of the DNA of progressive rock.

However, the best portrayal of such a fine concept is the very solid sound, where the combination of both usually results in musical albums we tend to refer to as 'timeless' or even 'iconic', although this is a very clichéd word by today's standards. 'Heroic Materials', as goes the title of this latest Cosmograf album, is a fine collection of songs, very melancholic, this time also very acoustic, that do not showcase the full potential of this very gifted multi-instrumentalist, that is Mr Robin Armstrong. Somehow this album is lacking the energy or the vibrancy that one could grasp at while listening to some of the earlier records. There is less diversity here for sure as well as the feeling that despite its forty-five minutes of playtime, the record is just meandering a bit on a few occasions.

I enjoy how seamlessly some of the tracks flow into each other, especially on the latter half of the album, where the impression of one longer continuous piece is given off, but this could also mean that they do sound alike a lot. 'Heroic Materials' is a more stripped-down version of Cosmograf, a more straightforward and predictable release than 'Mind Over Depth' or 'Capacitor', just to give some examples of albums by the band I consider superior. Despite its minor flaws, I do find it an enjoyable listen. It is admirable how Robin Armstrong manages to keep his releases tight and generally very focused, although 'Heroic Materials' would not be my recommendation for someone who is new to this band.

Once again joined by Kyle Fenton on drums, with a special guest on the 13-minute title track, Big Big Train's Danny Manners who plays the piano, Robin Armstrong expands his catalogue with a generally weaker release compared to some of his pervious successes, less diverse, and less imaginative, but containing some nice acoustic sections as well as profound and evocative lyrics. Alongside the epic title track, I could point out to 'If Things Don't Change' as one of the stronger songs here.