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Progressive Rock CD Reviews

Angela Burns

So That You Can Feel Better

Review by Gary Hill

You might argue with me putting this under the progressive rock heading. The thing is, it’s definitely progressive music. It’s also quite strong. There is a cool DIY element to a lot of this, and quite an intriguing blend of sounds. For the most part it’s all pretty effective, too. Progressive rock or not, this is progressive music that shows a lot of talent and vision.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
All Together

I love this song. It comes in with a mellower, artsy kind of sound. It works out after a while into a more rocking texture. Either way, this feels like a proggy piece of music with some more soulful rocking vocals. It’s great in the way it keeps growing and evolving. It even works towards an almost punky rock sound later. The multiple layers of vocals add a lot, too.

It's Sad
I love the violin on this piece. The cut lands more in the modern rock vicinity. That said, there are still proggy elements. It also makes me think of Mazzy Star a bit. It’s moody, but powerful, too.
Napoleon
Although the violin is gone, the mix of sounds here is similar to the last song. That said, this is more on the crunchy side of the equation. It’s a bit simpler and more straightforward than some of the stuff here.
Shame Game
A piano and voice arrangement serves this piece. The song gets a parental advisory on the lyrics. It’s pretty, but also sad – and perhaps a bit angry. The vocals feel just a little processed at times.
Haunting
Although this has some proggy elements, and starts pretty mellow, it really turns out to some hard rocking, alternative styled music later. There are some almost Beatles-like elements near the end, though.
So That You Can Feel Better
Although I like this song, there is a bit of an awkward quality to it at times. It has a real DIY vibe in a lot of ways. It’s hard rocking stuff with modern and artsy sounds at its heart.
Give It Back
I love the jazzy bluesy vibe of this song. It’s rather slow moving, but very cool. It evolves into a more rocking jam as it continues. It definitely gets some progressive rock elements in the mix as it works through. It drops back a bit in a return to an arrangement that has similarities to the first part of the song.
Roots (scratch track)
With a piano and voice arrangement, I really like the multiple layers of voices.
  
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