Even amongst a thriving but crowded Tech / Progressive Metal scene, Northampton (UK)’s Voices From The Fuselage have the potential and the quality to stand out. With a label re-release in 2016 and the presence of former TesseracT vocalist Ashe O’Hara at the forefront, their previous album Odyssey: Destroyer Of Worlds provided a benchmark album for UK Progressive Metal with a rich and layered sound combined with towering melodies and near pop sensibilities, showing them to have real crossover appeal. Continue reading →
You would think that strenuous touring schedules with both Steven Wilson and Steve Hackettwould take up enough of one’s time, but somehow Nick Beggs manages to juggle this with studio session work and other projects with the likes of Lifesigns and Lonely Robot, as well as being a general hero of contemporary prog rock. Still not familiar with the notion of a well deserved rest, Beggs has also started up new band The Mute Gods with fellow busy bodies Marco Minnemanand Roger King, in which his pop and prog backgrounds seem to come head to head.
Debut album Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me (InsideOut Music) certainly shows both sides in abundance, but does so with neither watering itself down or by proving daunting and inaccessible. Far from a massive prog odyssey, DNTYHFM is melodious and song based; strikingly immediate and catchy on the face of it. The opening title track proves an archetype of this, particularly with its easy to follow vocal lines which seem to hide its 7 plus minute duration; whilst sultry ballad ‘Nightschool For Idiots’ wouldn’t seem out-of-place on more straight forward rock acts’ repertoires.
Scratching past its poppy exterior however reveals deeper layers, from drawn out passages, heavy guitar tones, quirky wordplay and subject matter and near psychedelic synths, showcasing the many sides of its personnel but still sounding fluid. The only real drawback here is a lack of consistency, where the strength of its best songs only detract further from lesser counterparts like the weaker ‘Your Dark Ideas’ and ‘Mavro Capelo’ which prove more forgettable.
Aside from small discrepancies however, DNTYHFM is a solid and at times sumptuous début, albeit from a cast of seasoned and experienced personnel with fingers in many pies. Not a perfect album, but one that should be on the radars of anyone who likes catchy rock with a little more depth to jump in to.
It has taken John Mitchell several years to see his Lonely Robot project come to fruition, during which time Mr. Mitchell has been involved with a handful of gold-plated prog projects including It Bites, Frost* and Arena. Lonely Robot seems to be a very personal endeavor; one that Mitchell has been able to throw his unique insights and personality into. One gets the impression that when listening to Please Come Home (InsideOut) we are peering through a window into a man’s soul.
The noticeable trait of this album is the classic science fiction tone; it is permeable through each of the benevolently hewn songs. One of the aspects of space that has always intrigued humanity is the endless vacuum, the vast loneliness that engulfs its sparse inhabitants. While Please Come Home has elements of this, the spasmodic positivity ensures that the album isn’t too dense. Mitchell’s now distinct vocals bring a sense of comforting warmth, and are reminiscent of ‘Map of the Past’. Featuring the likes of Craig Blundell (drums) and Nick Beggs (bass) Mitchell and his comrades have the ability to tingle spines and reduce even the hardiest men to tears. ‘Airlock’ is an instrumental track steeped in classic sci-fi, with vintage synths from Frost*’s Jem Godfrey. Possibly the most captivating all the tracks on Please Come Home is the compelling ‘Man vs. God’. It wouldn’t be out of place in a movie soundtrack, inspiring countless thought of rockets, celestial pioneers and something otherworldly altogether.
Please Come Home will no doubt feature on many Top 10’s at the end of 2015, and deservedly so. All music aficionados, no matter their musical leanings should give this a listen. It transcends categorization and showcases John Mitchell at his finest.
Lonely Robot, the new project masterminded by producer/guitarist/vocalist John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Arena) is streaming the music video for “Are We Copies”, off their debut albumPlease Come Home, out March 10, 2015 via InsideOutMusic, here.
Stream a lyric video for “God vs Man” here.
Backed by the storming rhythm section of Nick Beggs on bass and Craig Blundell on drums, the album also sees guest appearances from Peter Cox (Go West), Nik Kershaw, Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Heather Findlay, Kim Seviour (Touchstone), Jem Godfrey (Frost*) as well as narration provided by British actor Lee Ingleby (Master & Commander, Harry Potter).
1. Airlock 2. God Vs. Man 3. The Boy In The Radio 4. Why Do We Stay? 5. Lonely Robot 6. A Godless Sea 7. Oubliette 8. Construct/Obstruct 9. Are We Copies? 10. Humans Being 11. The Red Balloon
This is the the new project masterminded by producer, guitarist and vocalist John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Arena).
Mitchell had this to say about the first full track to be released from the album:
“God vs Man, the human race seeks to control and overcome everything it comes into contact with. Just because science and progress says we can doesn’t mean we should”.
A teaser for the album was also recently launched and you can find that here.
Backed by the storming rhythm section of Nick Beggs on bass and Craig Blundell on drums, the album also sees guest appearances from Peter Cox (Go West), Nik Kershaw, Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Heather Findlay, Kim Seviour (Touchstone), Jem Godfrey (Frost*) as well as narration provided by British actor Lee Ingleby (Master & Commander, Harry Potter).
John Mitchell had this to say about the project:
“I’d long thought about doing an album where I could have total control from start to finish with the music, lyrics, production, and choosing who I wanted to contribute – expanding from the idea of just a solo album. Musically, this album is very proggy, but more about atmosphere than technical expertise, inspired by my love of science fiction and interest in the evolution of the human race.”
The track-listing for the album is as follows: Airlock God Vs. Man The Boy In The Radio Why Do We Stay? Lonely Robot A Godless Sea Oubliette Construct/Obstruct Are We Copies? Humans Being The Red Balloon
Lonely Robot, the new project masterminded by producer, guitarist and vocalist John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Arena), recently announced the release of its debut albumPlease Come Home on February 23, 2015. Check out a teaser of the album here.
Backed by the storming rhythm section of Nick Beggs on bass and Craig Blundell on drums, the album also sees guest appearances from Peter Cox (Go West), Nik Kershaw, Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Heather Findlay, Kim Seviour (Touchstone), Jem Godfrey (Frost*) as well as narration provided by British actor Lee Ingleby (Master & Commander, Harry Potter).
The track-listing for the album is as follows:
01. Airlock 02. God Vs. Man 03. The Boy In The Radio 04. Why Do We Stay? 05. Lonely Robot 06. A Godless Sea 07. Oubliette 08. Construct/Obstruct 09. Are We Copies? 10. Humans Being 11. The Red Balloon
Producer/guitarist/vocalist John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Arena) has a new project called Lonely Robot, who is releasing its debut album Please Come Home via InsideOut Music on February 2015.
The band is backed by the storming rhythm section of Nick Beggs on bass and Craig Blundell on drums. Guest appearances include Peter Cox (Go West), Nik Kershaw, Steve Hogarth (Marillion), Heather Findlay, Kim Seviour (Touchstone), Jem Godfrey (Frost*) as well as narration provided by British actor Lee Ingleby (Master & Commander, Harry Potter).
The track-listing for the album is as follows:
1. Airlock 2. God Vs. Man 3. The Boy In The Radio 4. Why Do We Stay? 5. Lonely Robot 6. A Godless Sea 7. Oubliette 8. Construct/Obstruct 9. Are We Copies? 10. Humans Being 11. The Red Balloon
