JADIS: More Questions Than Answers (PROGRESSIVE ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

What's more like a Jadis album than a Jadis album? A new Jadis album, of course! For over 30 years now, Gary Chandler has espoused the contours of neo-progressive rock, in which his band sometimes reached the top in its early days before returning to more mundane productions. And yet, with “More Questions Than Answers”, the band's tenth album, there may well be a genuine revival of interest in the guitarist's band, with their unmistakable sound, so immediately obvious is the quality of their compositions to the listener's ears.

In a format where the tracks take their time to develop (7 tracks for 50 minutes), Jadis takes us on a journey where inspired melodies, superbly rendered by Gary Chandler's voice, devoid of artifice and less dubbed than usual, carry the listener along with beautifully crafted themes, not without a few welcome variations.

There's plenty of room for instrumental parts, punctuated by Gary Chandler's inevitable solos, but that's not all. The four-minute break on the superb 'Do You Know' is a veritable instrumental feast, with each musician contributing a style that's rather unprecedented in the band's history, strongly reminiscent of Pendragon's musical neighbors, with a touch of flute thrown in for good measure. This creativity can be heard throughout the various tracks, but even more so on 'From All Sides', another epic track on this album.

Stephen Christey's drumming is a delight of subtleties and rhythmic breaks, aided by Andy Marlow's discreet but effective bass. As for Martin Orford, a very special place seems to have been given to him on this new production, bringing a new balance to the band's music, which at times leaned a little too much towards the guitar side of his playing master.

Unlike its predecessors, “More Questions Than Answers” is consistent from start to finish, with no weaknesses. As accessible as ever, Jadis' neo-progressive style has a lot going for it here, even for those for whom the term neo attached to their preferred style borders on the crude. Unquestionably the band's best production since “More Than Meet the Eyes”, their debut album. - Official website

JADIS

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS

AUTRE LABEL

PROGRESSIVE ROCK