GRIMSPOUND

I'm finding this album hard to review. On the one hand, in 'Brave Captain', 'Meadowland' and 'A Mead Hall in Winter', it contains some of BBT's most original and riveting tracks. On the other hand, the album feels strangely diffuse and also didactic, and in spite of excellent musicianship throughout, the spark that characterised THE UNDERFALL YARD, ENGLISH ELECTRIC (pts. I & II) and FOLKLORE is sometimes missing. Songs like 'The Ivy Gate' and 'As the Crow Flies' just don't do much for me. As for the didacticism, Greg Spawton's liner notes contain the passage: 'Whilst the Enlightenment is undoubtedly a Good Thing, some Enlightenment thinking is quite austere, with an emphasis on knowledge above all other things. For me, the "sweet-spot" for humanity is in the crossover between the values of the Enlightenment and Romanticism...' All of which makes me want to shout, O.K. Greg, move on to the next slide - and could you perhaps develop those thoughts a little by Monday? Even 'Brave Captain' is, in a sense, a history lesson, but David Longdon (who wrote both the words and the music) clearly hadn't made up his mind if he wanted to compose a patriotic song (when I attended a BBT gig in London, there were quite a few military men in the audience) or an anti-war song (viz. the lyrics 'You were a poster boy / who shunned your own fame / who didn't take to the accolades / even when propaganda / screamed your name'.)

Enough with the moaning! Both 'Meadowland' and the title track I find deeply moving. (What other prog band would dare to write a simple hymn to all those who seek 'science and art / and beauty and music / and friendship and love'?) 'On the Racing Line' is a lovely instrumental, 'Experimental Gentlemen' is catchy in a TRICK OF THE TAIL kind of way, and all things considered we've got at least 50 minutes of superior 'symphonic prog' here, embellished with gorgeous solos on electric guitar (mainly by Dave Gregory, I suppose), Rachel Hall (violin) and various keyboards (Rikard Sjöblom and Danny Manners). Although BBT have released quite a few albums since GRIMSPOUND, I honestly cannot say (as of February 2025, when I'm writing this review) they've ever really captured the same heights again.

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