Everything comes to an end is a well-known saying. Sadly, this also applies to the musical project The Bardic Depths. A project which started in 2020 by multi-instrumentalist Dave Bandana and lyricist Bradley Birzer. A project that may have gotten a little out of hand, as the success it brought about was perhaps not expected beforehand. But when you expand the project with great musicians like Peter Jones (vocals, clarinet, alto saxophone), Gareth Cole (guitars, vocals), and Tim Gehrt (drums, vocals), there is always the possibility that it will be noticed in the progressive rock scene and lead to success, which it did. But after four excellent albums—namely the eponymous album released in 2020 (see review), 2022's Promises Of Hope (see review), 2024's What We Really Like In Stories (see review), and their latest album Some Things Are Worth Remembering —the curtain has now fallen. But leader Bandana didn't just pull the plug without a reason. First, a worthy closing album had to be released. And that has certainly happened. Perhaps the musical highlight of their oeuvre. Naturally, everyone is curious why Bandana is ultimately quitting. After all, it is strange to do this, despite being so successful with it. When I asked him for the ultimate reasons and what he plans to do in the future, he said this: "It takes two years to write, record, and promote an album. I still write and record; I have been doing this for eight years, and I don't want to commit to another album. I have things to do outside of music. I will probably still write and record, but on a smaller scale, for example, for a solo album." But let's now focus on the ultimately final album of The Bardic Depths. This time around the album centers around themes of reminiscence, longing, nostalgia, and the fragile nature of memory. All of this can be found on the eight tracks recorded for the album. As for the eight compositions on the album, I will go a bit into them separately so you know what to expect music wise. Islands - An impressive opener with strong vocals of Peter Jones who is also responsible for the fantastic saxophone parts. It starts a bit like the musical overture for a movie. Here you can hear for the first time the combination which works perfect on this album. Namely beautiful orchestral keyboard parts mixed with excellent guitar parts. A strong opener indeed! Fallen Leaves - Beautiful piece of music which has some outstanding harmony vocal parts. The guitar parts played on the acoustic and electric guitar also are rather impressive. Sometimes the music goes in the direction of early Genesis! Arribabok - This one has an Eastern flavour and is reminiscent to the sound of The Beatles and their album Revolver (1966). Reminding me of songs such as I'm Only Sleeping, She Said She Said and most of all Tomorrow Never Knows. The song contains strong guitar, vocal (Bandana) and sax parts and has some psychedelic influences as well. October Sun - A beautiful mellow piece of music with strong vocals of Jones. A bit of early Genesis comes to mind. Did I mention the excellent (twin) guitar and sax parts? From Empty Trees - This is a Peter Jones composition and he plays keyboards on this one. This is probably favourite on the album. Because I like strong instrumental pieces and this is one of them! A strong up beat tune with leading roles for the electric guitar and synthesizer. Both instruments are used to come up with some strong solos. The guitar sounds sometimes like David Gilmour and the synthesizer goes in the direction of players like Tony Banks and Mark Kelly. At the same time, the name Camel also comes to mind. The band that became known for the beautiful guitar playing of Andy Latimer and the delightful keyboard solos of Pete Bardens. So bravo to the musicians who are responsible for those great musical parts. A View - Once again the strong vocal and saxophone parts of Jones lifts this song to a very high level. And with again excellent Gilmour kind of guitar parts there is not much to complain about. Harder To See - Impressive tune with strong vocals of Jones. But also the harmony vocals are top notch. Again the Gilmour kind of guitar parts are a delight to listen to. Rewind - Again the vocals sound impressive on this track. Not only Bandana on lead vocals but also the harmony vocals are so beautiful. Just like the excellent guitar parts. Really amazing. But also don't forget the beautiful break which reminded me of Tangerine Dream and Steve Hackett mixed together. The song is also available as a single in a shorter version. Some Things Are Worth Remembering is certainly something worth remembering. An album that definitely should not be forgotten. It is too beautiful for that. The way the songs are written and recorded suggests that we are dealing with a very professional release here, into which a lot of time and money has likely been invested. And that has certainly paid off. The album as a whole is certainly something the musicians can be proud of. Compositionally, all eight tracks are of a very high standard and will therefore certainly be embraced by lovers of solid progressive rock with a strong musical foundation. I can therefore certainly recommend the album to fans of Pink Floyd, Big Big Train, and Genesis, to name just a few that musically come close to what this band represents. This atmospheric music, with beautiful keyboard contributions and especially fine guitar and saxophone solos, will certainly appeal to many lovers of good progressive rock. Finally, it is clear that the band is bidding farewell with a BANG! It probably couldn't have been better. Of course, I mustn't forget to thank the musicians of The Bardic Depths for delivering four fantastic albums. Albums that are certainly appreciated in the prog scene. Something they probably wouldn't have thought possible beforehand. Thank you, gentlemen! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
