X - Spock's Beard

X (Spock's Beard, 2010)

1. Edge of the In-Between - 10:31
2. Kamikaze - 4:14
3. The Emperor's Clothes - 6:01
4. From the Darkness - 17:09
5. The Quiet House - 9:14
6. The Man Behind the Curtain - 7:45
7. Jaws of Heaven - 16:22

I was pretty dead set against getting the new Spock's Beard, mainly because I thought their previous, self-titled effort wasn't much of one: mediocrity, amelody, and general lack of thrill. Ever since Neal Morse left, they've been floundering. The other post-Neal albums were mixed bags at best. However, I had a Borders coupon, and, miraculously, X was in the store. I figured I'd support the band and I came home with it.

I was pleasantly surprised! There's fire in the playing again, and really not a weak stretch on the album, at least not after the first several spins. New bandleader Nick D'Virgilio finally pulled off a convincing epic: "From the Darkness" starts as a blistering rocker, takes some time for a ballad, morphs into a dramatic 7/8 piece, and then delivers a grandiose, majestic ending in the tradition of some of the Beard's finest moments. The Meros/Boegehold songwriting team are contributing good tunes, too. "Jaws of Heaven" has some pretty sweeping parts, taking the listener from a mysterious, melancholy beginning, through a Latin-flavored jam, emotional harmony vocals, and an ending that builds and builds to a cathartic release. Their other two epics, "Edge of the In-Between" and "The Quiet House," feature thoughtful lyrics, good singing, and adventurous musical passages.

Tickler of the ivories Ryo Okumoto delivers on the instrumental "Kamikaze," leading the band through an insane fusionoid workout. There is also a joyous return of ensemble singing and hyperspeed instrumental play in "The Emperor's New Clothes." The only semi-weak track is "The Man Behind the Curtain," which falls into cliche land (though I do like the line "My little white lies are getting colored in"). Fortunately, Dave's bass rescues the proceedings halfway through, and then when Alan's guitar starts doubling the riff, all is forgiven.

Overall, it seems like the band has subscribed to the theory, "If it's not fun, don't do it," where the previous album's philosophy seemed to be, "Well, we've got to fill an album. Whaddya got?" Ryo is working all his keyboards, Alan Morse's guitar ranges from fluid emotion to machine-gun attack, Nick remembered he can drum, and Dave Meros's bass work (my favorite part, if we're picking favorites) is smooth, muscular, and, dare I say it, supple. The Beard is back.

Arbitrary rating: 4.5 out of 5 supple bass lines