All previous albums from guitarist Nick Fletcher were 100% pure guitar gems, very suitable for guitar lovers and addicts. His last album A Longing For Home (2024, see review) even belonged to one of my favourite albums of that year, so I was really excited about listening, enjoying, and reviewing Nick Fletcher's fifth studio album called The Mask Of Sanity. Fletcher's new album is a concept album, inspired by Carl Jung and it is mainly about the part of yourself that you keep hidden. As Above So Below opens this album in a rather mysterious way with violin sounds, played by Clare Lindley of Big Big Train; however suddenly the tempo changes and the listener is treated to that wonderful, recognisable guitar picking by Fletcher. Follow up Simulacrum is a complex, intricate track, featuring a goosebump guitar solo and atmospheric wordless vocals. The highlight of this album is called The Shadow Magician, and it is divided into five parts, which are again packed with extraordinary guitar melodies, solos, and riffs and again the wordless vocals add another dimension for sure. The title track of this album is also a top-class prog rock song with the guitar synthesizer of Fletcher to the fore, making this track sound like Pat Metheny. However, it is 100% sure that Fletcher has his own musical style, a wonderful mix of jazz, fusion, and prog rock, but his musical influences - Steve Hackett, Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck and David Gilmour - are also perfectly recognisable indeed. Overall, The Mask Of Sanity is again a magical Fletcher album, his most accessible rock album to date, but I liked Longing For Home a little bit more.... Nag, nag, indeed. **** Martien Koolen (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
