TALES FROM THE LUSH ATTIC

At a time when the predominance of trends such as new wave and more digestible pop were giving the progressive movement more than sour moments and even two of its most important representatives, Genesis (resolutely turning to new sounds) and Yes (looking for a formula for subsistence) were moving away from the recognisable canons, proud squires of the genre emerged to inject a breath of vitality and renewed vigour into it. One of them was IQ. With almost no budget and taking advantage of an offer from Major Record Company to record and produce 1,000 LPs in five days for 1,500 pounds at the time, the Englishmen released "Tales from the Lush Attic", their debut album, in the second half of 1983.

The huge suite "The Last Human Gateway" kicks off the album with a theme related to the recurring human quest for immortality and the tragic contradiction of not being able to bring closure to the cycle of life, with a prolonged and suspenseful introduction dominated by the keyboards of Martin Orford and the sublime singing of Peter Nicholls until the irruption of the clean and persistent sounds of the moog, to then go back and forth through moments of calm and agitation that towards the end intensify with the participation of the riffs and guitar solos of Mike Holmes and the active drums of Paul Cook, closing the piece epically. One of the album's best.

And both the agitated and disturbing "Through the Corridors" and the instrumental "My Baby Treats Me Right 'Cos I'm a Hard Lovin' Man All Night Long" with Orford's rushing classical piano solo, both brief interludes interspersed, precede the Genesian (Gabriel era) "Awake and Nervous" and the multiform "The Enemy Smacks", a suite that without reaching the mileage of "The Last Human Gateway", describes the deterioration of a heroin addict in three phases with an instrumentation that adds to the identifiable progressive elements, bluesy touches, hardened hard rock riffs and lysergic atmospheres reminiscent of the 70's, with a solid base built by Tim Esau's bass and Cook's intensity on drums until the conclusive ending with the full band.

"Tales from the Lush Attic" is a very good album and an unbeatable start for IQ, a precursor band of neo-prog that, with few exceptions, has been consistent throughout their career, respecting their original roots.

4 stars