First up, a disclaimer.
I actually know the drummer of TFATD.
As with any genre, their style will not be everyone’s cup of tea. Prog-rock (although I wouldn’t really label TFATD as that) can be challenging for listeners who like their comfortable 3:30min poppy melody. However, dig beneath the sometimes self-indulgent passages of spiralling keyboard and riffs and there is usually something for everyone. Usually.
In this case TFATD decided that it might be nice to have some vocals on an album. Their previous releases are all instrumental (the 2018 release The Euphoric is well worth a listen if you liked this more recent album) Having Matt sing along to the already compelling vibe the band has brings a new dimension and perhaps makes their music a bit more accessible. Okay, he hasn’t got the best voice in the world – no Gilmour smoothness here – but it stands up fine against some of the heavier tracks.
In all I enjoyed this album when Stu told me about it (I met him a year ago). It doesn’t rank highly versus some of my other go to artists in this category but I return regularly.
I think TFATD will go on to have further success within this genre of “new-age” prog-rock and by all accounts their live sets are spot on.
Stand out tracks? Tricky… I’ll go with Shake the Jar and the very Muse-like What a Time to be Alive
8.5/10
