Monday 24 November 2014

Rhys Marsh - Sentiment

It's getting to that time of year when we think about our favourite albums of the year. It has been another bumper year as far as I am concerned so the problem was what to choose as the best. Problem now solved with the release of Rhys Marsh's solo album "Sentiment". This is an absolute corker of an album. It has everything I like in my prog, especially the ubiquitous mellotron and there is plenty of that on here. This album therefore has the epic majesty of early Crimson, the Scandinivian melancholy of Anekdoten, White Willow and the such (Marsh is an Englishman, based in Norway), even hints of the classical art rock of early Dead Can Dance and with nods to the modern take on the emotional torch songs of Tim Bowness it ticks all the right boxes for me! But it's the sweeping wonder of these songs that captivates. Hugely emotional and musically rivetting, with all the songs deftly arranged to maximise their impact succinctly. No song longer than around 6 minutes or so and with the whole collection nimbly coming in at a satisfying 41 minutes. It's been a great year for Marsh as his other, more experimental project as part of the trio Kaukasus also rates highly on my radar. At this rate Rhys Marsh is very soon going to be quite a force to be reckoned with. So, album of the year? You bet!

 

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