Tribe3 is a band from the United Kingdom and consists of Jonathan Kinsey on vocals, drums and additional keyboards, Chris Jones on guitars and Steve Hughes on bass, keyboards and bass pedals. The biography says they have a lot of experience on their instruments and are playing for at least 40 years in the prog and fusion scene. Big influences for the band are Genesis, King Crimson, Rush, Status Quo and The Beatles. If you ask me to compare the music with other artists in the prog scene, I have to tell you that now and then I hear bands such as Cairo from the USA, Pendragon, Arena, Jack Yello, IQ and Mystery. Maybe I forget a few, but now you have a direction of what music this band makes. It is a melting pot from diverse directions. If you take a look at our website, you can read the interview Henri had with the band (see interview). This review will be a review of both albums they delivered us, Tribe3 from 2023 and Life Amongst Strangers from 2025. When I was writing this review, I had the idea of giving one single word that associate with the song. Of course you can have another word, but for me it was nice to overthink their music and put in one word. So I challenge you to do so for yourself and compare it with my word, do we hear the same things? I start the review of the albums chronologically, so first Tribe3, than Life Amongst Strangers. Tribe3: Invictus This is the first one. This ones takes its time, what stands out is that it looks like there are two drummers, but it is only one. The song has varied music, nice guitars, driving bass, good rhythm sections. You hear catchy guitars, a lot of repetitions so the song lingers nicely. At some point there is a big carpet of keys that takes a lot of room. After the keys a great guitar solos comes your way and the song ends. This one I call symphonic. Fear Is The Key It starts with threatening music from the keyboard, your attention is immediately drawn. This one has heavier guitars that matches the drumming. It is a more rocking song with lovely keyboards that comes and go. The seven minutes are done in a few seconds. The song reminds me of the album Passion from Pendragon. This one I call rocker. The Downfall Of The Birdwatcher The shortest song of the album, however it still clocks over six minutes. The opening is a la Jean Michelle Jarre. After the opening a bit of a technical episode followed by a Pink Floyd harmony vocals. The song bounces in all directions which enhances the listening pleasure. You can hear a stubborn guitar solo that tells it own story. So I call this one stubborn. Lament Best song of the album for me is this one. This one takes its time and touches you. The song works best with headphones and eyes that are closed, so you can float away on the music. On the first half the drumming looks like it is played on something a la a djembe, very intimate. The second half sounds like normal drumming. The guitar has the leading role in this one, several beautiful solos comes your way and the only thing you have to do is listen to their stories, they are endless which is a plus point. The way Jonathan sings 'There is beauty in you, there is beauty in me' sounds so lovely. This one again shows the singer's versatility and is very important in this band. Sensitive is the word. Calm Before The Storm It all starts with the sound of rain combined with bass runs. All instruments are dueling with each other on the first side, on the other side they complement each other well. The bass guitar gets some extra space in this song. I hear some INXS in the song. The end is coming with great keyboards and closes with the rain again. Adventure is the word. Dawntreader The last song of the first album opens a bit juicy, that is the word for me this time. For me this one is the weakest song of the album, unfortunately I can't tell you why. It is a feeling. Lucky there is a lot of joy on the rest of the album. After the first album, here are my thoughts of the second album, Life Amongst Strangers. Life Amongst Strangers: Voyager It all starts with the longest track on the album, Voyager. What immediately stands out is that this music has a real modern sound. Jonathan is a great singer with a great range in his voice, in this song he sometimes sounds a bit like Nick Barrett from Pendragon. The first song is a real journey, sometimes you feel like you are in space because of the outstanding key parts, other moments are classic neo prog and then you hear conjuring soundscapes. It all fits very well. This is how prog needs to sound, never knowing what will happen next. Some moments I have to think about the band Cairo from the USA, who made a few albums in the nineties of the last century. Space is the word. Falls Like Rain After the first killer song it is the turn for Falls Like Rain. For me this sounds totally different, Jonathan sings on another level. I had to get used to this song. First it did not do that much to me, but now I can appreciate it very much. I overthought the why question, but it is nothing more than a feeling and I am happy it turned out this way. In order of singles, this is one. The word for this song is commercial, without a negative vibe. Last Encore If we do not count Requiem For A Friend, Last Encore is the shortest song of the album. It is a slow starter with the emphasis on the piano in combination with the singing. The song develops to a more up tempo song with beautiful solo's on guitar as well as keyboards. mysterious is the word for the song. The way Jon sings in this song sounds a bit like Jean Pageau from Mystery. Requiem For A Friend The word for this one is tribute. It is a precursor direction to Life Amongst Strangers. It has heavenly sounds and knowing it is for a person who died, the sounds you hear sticks to you. Life Amongst Strangers The sounds of Requiem For A Friend continue for a while then the song Life Amongst Strangers. At once all stops are being pulled out and a lot of noise comes your way. This is a long one and starts heavy, as the music is meant to be. A lot of breaks and change of direction in the song, it is unbelievable, it all sounds so wonderful. The word for this song is diverse. The Front Line Slow guitars opens the song. It all sounds a bit omnious, what will be the word of the song. This one is not a heavy one but has good vibes with beautiful guitar parts that are dragging . After a while some tunes of Arena comes to mind but it is anything but annoying. Some keyboard carpets are woven in the song and they are so tasty, yummy! After nine minutes the song is over and that is a pity, it could have been at least a quarter for me. Evening Tide The last song of the album is Evening Tide. With almost 13 minutes it is a long song. It takes it's time to develop and sounds like film music. After a while the guitar enters and takes you directly away from earth, what a solo, wow, it touches you directly into the heart, this is music as it is meant to be. After this solo there is a solo spot for the vocals, lay back and listen to the beautiful voice of Jonathan, supported by the piano sounds. The word for this song is transcendent because this one has everything, good musicianship, solo spots, great rhythm section, layered music, a good theme. After the song ends it is necessary to recover a bit from all this beautiful music. If I have to write anything about the lyrics, I have to be honest I read them intensively. The lyricist uses words and themes that I do not totally understand. It is interpretable in so many ways, that "I can not make some chocolate from it". So I leave it to what you hear in it, and that is, of course, totally okay. If you ask me, both albums are highly recommended to all music lovers, especially for the people who are interested in artists as earlier mentioned. It is not that the music is very surprising, everything has been done in the past, that is not the thing. I think the best of all bands come together in Tribe3. They have delivered two great albums and as you can read in the interview on the website, there is still material for at least two albums. So they have been inspired by each other, they level each other up, and that is great to read and for our listeners to hear. So enjoy this great music. For me the first album is great but the second one is just a bit better in my opinion, so Tribe3 receives 4+ stars and Life Amongst Strangers receives the ultimate 5 stars. Tribe 3 ****+ Life Amongst Strangers ***** Michel Stolk (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Check the interview we had with the band. Where to buy? |
