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"Guardian of the neo-progressive temple, Pendragon is returning to its pre-Believe style. Perfectly polished object or backwards?"
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3/5
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In 2019, Pendragon released "The First 40 Years", a 5-CD boxset recapitulating the band's career. It's little to say that the band formed by Nick Barrett has resisted the wear and tear of time, it even appears today as a guardian of the neo-progressive temple. "Love Over Fear" is the eleventh testimony of Pendragon, who after a more muscular trilogy ("Believe", "Pure" and "Passion") returned to the less punchy style that made the success of "Not of This World" or "The Masquerade Overture".
The formation is the same as for "Men Who Climb Mountains" (already six years old!), and thus keeps the trio Barrett (vocals, guitars but also keyboards), Gee (bass, keyboards) and Nolan (keyboards), guarantor of a continuity in the spirit of the proposed music.
There are two ways to consider "Love Over Fear". On the one hand, fans will praise the immediate accessibility of the melodies (there are no weak tracks on the album), the care taken in the production and Nick's remarkable talent for launching wonderfully executed guitar solos. The neo-prog is full of colour, especially on the tracks that are around eight minutes long, with a very honourable mention to 'Who Really Are We', a typically Pendragonian construction juxtaposing numerous endearing sequences with the right emphasis on the keyboards to set the mood. In a way, Pendragon refines his art to the extreme, delivering here an excellent outcome of his know-how.
On the other side, sorrowful minds will notice that Pendragon makes Pendragon, zero risk. The style is quite in the continuity of "Not of This World" (2001), with dense keyboards, supporting all the effects. The more aerial and dynamic style from "Believe" or "Passion" is no longer in use, and it is possible to feel a certain backtracking in the general dynamics. The few variations offered are cosmetic: an unusual violin on '360 Degrees', a soft saxophone on 'Whirlwind' and two piano voices ('Stafish and the Moon' and 'Whilwind') with unusually high voice placement (a demanding exercise that Nick finds difficult to keep up). The pattern of the long tracks is almost the same, very (too?) typical of medium-length prog songs, with the central lull, the (very good) guitar solo and the empathic final.
All this is remarkably executed, so that the listener doesn't get bored throughout this dense album (64 minutes). Yet, will he feel like playing over and over again an opus that uses recipes that have already been used, even if they are perfectly mastered? It's a question of sensitivity...
NB: the deluxe edition offers a 3-CD box set which offers an instrumental version (perfect for karaoke lovers) and an acoustic version in which the solo guitar is acoustic (keyboards, much less). - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Everything - 05:41
02. Starfish And The Moon - 03:37
03. Truth And Lies - 08:26
04. 360 Degrees - 05:34
05. Soul And The Sea - 05:45
06. Eternal Light - 08:19
07. Water - 07:58
08. Whirlwind - 04:49
09. Who Really Are We? - 08:42
10. Afraid Of Everything - 05:08
LINEUP:
Clive Nolan: Claviers / Choeurs
Jan Vincent Velazco: Batterie
Nick Barrett: Chant / Guitares
Peter Gee: Basse / Claviers / Choeurs
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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Top of the page
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(3) COMMENT(S)
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The album may not have been released or the spotify ID has not yet been entered or there is no spotify ID available
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READERS
4.1/5 (12 view(s))
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STAFF:
3.6/5 (8 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH PENDRAGON
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OTHER REVIEWS
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OTHER(S) REVIEWS ABOUT PENDRAGON
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