If, like me, you are very interested in everything to do with prog and in particular neo-prog, then it is a small miracle that you missed this British band, well band? I wouldn't call it a real band because we are dealing with a project of two men of which Robert Williams is the main driving force and Donovan Baines is the second musician who contributes on guitar. However, Williams is the one who composes everything, writes the lyrics and plays all the instruments with Baines as a kind of secondary. In the available information they mention that The Catch is to be seen as a neoprog project, but I would like to make a very clear comment about that because I only hear that here and there. Still, there are two long tracks on Absence Of Light that are certainly in line with the indicated music style, but for the rest we mainly hear short tracks that go more towards pop or rock with the necessary keyboard parts and many beautiful guitar solos. Closer To Midnight (All Hail To The Sinner) is the first of the longer tracks with more than eight minutes and starts with a nice synth solo and then transitions into a fairly simple melody but fortunately after about four minutes a keyboard and guitar solo form a nice middle part. However, the song ends quite smoothly with some striking swinging bass and I hear some Alan Parsons like vocals and that is partly due to the background singer and singer who create a lovely choir. Let's make it clear that Williams has a very pleasant voice and plays well. The electronic drums are well integrated into the overall sound and you can safely say that the recording quality is good. You will understand that you should not expect overly complicated tempo changes and unruly rhythms, but of course that isn't always necessary. The Oyster Catcher is a track that also stands out for me, partly because of the beautiful melody and the nice solos and the room for instrumental passages. The title track of more than eleven minutes comes next and this is the highlight of the album because a lot of things happen in it and I wish they would do this more often. The almost swinging beginning with a nice synth solo is followed by a wonderfully driving rhythm and over that a very nice guitar solo is played. See, this makes the progger in me happy, that doesn't apply to the text because lack of light is not a happy situation for many. After about seven minutes the tempo picks up and wonderfully ripping keyboards and guitars provide a perfect surface for Williams' vocal lines. The jubilant finale closes the song beautifully with of course a wonderful guitar solo and swirling keyboards. Imagine if the entire album had been filled with tracks like this. That, for me, is the punch line of this review. What do the guys really want, appeal to a wide audience? A very legitimate wish, of course, but there is also the danger that you just miss the boat on all sides. For fans of prog too light and for those who like more compact pop rock it might be too complicated. A song like The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress with beautiful orchestrations is very, very sweet and Tin Horses, for example, could easily enter the top 40. When listening to Sharks the name Jadis comes up or maybe Kite Parade, both bands with a clear front man and both on the edge of prog but with great guitar solos. The last Jadis album however, is pure prog again, while the last Kite Parade moves more towards pop rock. These bands make choices that make them feel good and Williams should certainly do that too, but for the visitors of this site Absence Of Light is probably just partly interesting. Fans of the more accessible work of Alan Parsons will most likely appreciate the whole album because there are really nice songs on it. Definitely a name to keep an eye on and wait to see where the next album takes them because there is a lot of potential in this project. ***- Erik Fraanje (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
