Proggnosis Artist-Release Details
Strange Road
a Studio release
by MaterialEyes
Release Year: 2018
| Date | Label | Catalog # | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Mar 2018 | Davwilmar Music | Davwilmar CD001 | CD (limited edition of 100), Digital |
All songs written by Dave Westmoreland, Will Lawery and Martyn Howes.
The album Strange Road was recorded between August and December 2017 and features the words and music of Dave and Will, Martyn playing a large part in the arrangement and production.
The CD is due for release 29 March 2018. Downloads available via Bandcamp.
Entry Last Updated on: 8/9/2018 1:53:00 PM by: DBSilver
- You Are Alone - 4:51
- You Disappear - 4:16
- If Tomorrow Never Comes (for John) - 3:47
- Sail Away - 8:34
- Rolling River - 5:04
- Why Do Rainbows Never Shine? - 5:19
- This Storm Tonight - 5:48
- When Moonbeams Kiss the Sea - 6:21
- A Strange Road - 15:31
Dave Westmoreland
Lead vocals, keyboards, backing vocals
Will Lawery
lead vocals (3,7), electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Martyn Howes
acoustic, electric and bass guitars, backing vocals, additional keyboards, saxophone(8)
Reviewed by Marc on 19 Mar 2018
Strange Road is the first album by a new band... of ancient prog musicians. Being in my late fifties I have grown up listening to the great prog bands of the seventies. Listening to Strange Road, it is obvious to me that the members of MaterialEyes have done the same.
Since the seventies I have discovered many other bands and musicians and I got interested in musical genres that did not appeal to me in my teen years. Still, I'm always excited when some of the ''old guys'' put out a new album. Sometimes I'm quite happy with the result (i.e. Steve Hackett, Van Der Graaf Generator...) and sometimes I am not (i.e. Yes, Ian Anderson...). A couple of bands that have fairly recently put out album that I really liked are Barclay James Harvest (North - 2013) and Caravan (Paradise Filter - 2013). In many ways MaterialEyes reminds of these two bands and their more recent records.
Strange Road consists of eight short to mid-lenght tracks, pretty much song based, but they all feature interesting instrumentation and, usually, a cool keyboard or guitar solo. The lead singing role is shared and in both cases, the voice reminds of a mixture of Pye Hastings and John Lees. The ninth song is a 15+ minutes epic lenght track that allows the musicians to stretch out a bit more, but it still blends very well with the rest of the album.
Obviously no one will mistake MaterialEyes with most the other ''new'' prog bands that appeared in the last couple of years. But if, like me, you enjoy well written songs and talented musicians putting all their heart into their performance, I do not hesitate in recommending Strange Road to you.
Fans of Caravan, Camel, Barclay James Harvest, The Moody Blues... should certainly enjoy Strange Road by MaterialEyes. Nice stuff indeed.
