If (Glass Hammer, 2010)
1. Beyond, Within - 11:442. Behold, The Ziddle - 9:11
3. Grace the Skies - 4:29
4. At Last We Are - 6:465. If The Stars - 10:25
6. If The Sun - 24:02
Glass Hammer is an indie symphonic progressive rock band started in the late 90s by Tennessee musicians Fred Schendel (keyboards) and Steve Babb (bass and keyboards). They have a lot of albums with a revolving cast of musicians, most with titles taken from J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and I've always been cautiously curious about them, but when a friend said I had to get their newest album If, it found its way to the upper echelon of my birthday list. Since my wife truly loves me, here it is!
By the first few notes of "Beyond, Within" I can already tell this is going to be good. These guys unabashedly worship the sound of the 70s heyday, playing Hammond Organ, vintage Moog synths, Mellotron, and a growling Rickenbacker bass (though this particular item is recorded and mixed too quiet for my taste). The lead singer sounds suspiciously like Yes's Jon Anderson (and is named Jon Davison - coincidence?), and the intricate vocal harmonies bring Yes, Genesis, and Gentle Giant to mind as well. Adding to the Yes comparison, the guitarist they have on this album seems to be channeling Steve Howe's muse with spidery melodic lines. The songs and arrangements themselves are adventurous, complex, and stirring in the best tradition of symphonic prog rock.
The songs are all very mystic and poetic, almost like they have Walt Whitman writing their lyrics. Well, the opening words of "Beyond, Within" are basically stolen... "I sing electric to the skies / I sing the orbs in the heavens." This uplifting epic about creation (individual and cosmic) is filled with a sense of mature wonder. Contrast that with "Behold, The Ziddle," a mysterious, turbulent song about a bizarre creature and the people trapped in his dark world. "Grace the Skies" is another Whitman-esque rumination ("If the bird is free to fly / then why my soul should I deny?"). "At Last We Are", a song about heaven, has one of the most stirring melodies in 5/8 I've ever heard, with perhaps my favorite lyric of the album:
When I draw close He'll be waiting there
Father of my soul in the morning fair
Then I recall He has never been
Far from my side
Leading me, cheering me
Feeding me, guiding me home.
The last two songs, "If The Stars" and the 24-minute "If The Sun," do not disappoint. "If The Stars" is another sweeping metaphysical epic ("Man, just a grain of sand on an island / In a sea of stars"), with gripping guitar flourishes, haunting harp (yes, harp), and a high-octane rocking outro with guitar and Moog fighting for ascendancy. "If The Sun" migrates through many memorable musical themes and jams, from more aggressive jazz-based themes to a quiet vocal section with Mellotron flutes that builds slowly into a musical sunburst. The last five minutes of the song revel in multi-vocal prog rock glory. Both songs deal with man's identity and worth in an infinite universe, with the search for a spiritual home and how a person can be changed: "He sang me a song to break / The hardest heart / For I had made mine a stone."
Glass Hammer has created a stunning classic of modern progressive rock with If. They use the sounds and styles of yesterday but succeed in creating their own beautiful music, indebted to (and occasionally paying tribute to) the past while forging ahead with their own vision. This is good stuff.
Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 fathers of my soul in the morning fair
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