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Trollheart · 12-26-2020, 10:15 AM

Time to take a random prog album from the air. Spin the wheel and see where it lands. Let’s see. First spin give us H, then we need a vowel and it’s O. Another spin gives us U. HO-U.Using Prog Archives’ artists list, that gives us five to choose from: Hour of the Shipwreck, Hourglass, House of Not, House of Rabbits and House of Usher. Spinning a 1 gives us then these guys.

Album title: The Hour is Upon Us
Artist: The Hour of the Shipwreck
Nationality: American
Year: 2008
Chronology: 1
The Trollheart Factor: 0

Track Listing: The Chandelier Suite/Save the World/My Fantasy/Soft Napalm Pillow Dreams/Mt. Davidson/Flying/Unclouded Eyes

Comments: I have never even heard of these guys before, and this appears to be their only album, released as it was over ten years ago with no followup. A nice kind of Danny Elfman opening before soft acoustic guitar is joined by very soulful vocal and then building percussion as we enter “The Chandelier Suite”, and it’s a nice start I must say. It powers up after a while and hell yes it’s very impressive, some great guitar work here from either Richie Kohan or Marcel Camargo. The vocal harmonies are nice on “Save the World” with a lovely piano and violin intro, and there’s a much heavier feel to “My Fantasy”. Definitely like what I hear so far.

It’s interesting to see instruments mentioned here like glockenspiel and autoharp, even a pump organ, and the soundscape is certainly full and rich. “Soft Napalm Pillow Dreams”, in addition to being a very weird title for a song, has a real sense of Dan Fogelberg about the vocal, trips along nicely, while “Mt. Davidson” is a lot more acoustic and laid back, with a feel of early Genesis to it, and some great choral vocals - is that a choir? I don’t know: a conductor is credited but no orchestra or choir -oh wait: Discogs tells me that yes, there is a choir - “Choir of the Shipwreck”. Nice. This choir is then used to great effect on “Flying”, which has some very impassioned vocals, the album then ending (too soon) on “Unclouded Eyes” with some really nice, um, glockenspiel? If I have one small complaint it’s the sudden stops, often to allow vocals alone for a few seconds, and they can get a little obtrusive and annoying, but other than that, pretty damn good and it’s a pity they only put out the one album.

Track(s) I liked: everything

Track(s) I didn't like: Nothing

One standout: n/a

One rotten apple: n/a

Overall impression: A very competent album by a band who really should have been better known and more successful. Almost a kind of hard ambient, if you can imagine such a thing. Definite elements of Big Big Train at their most pastoral, and while they can get loud they can never really be accused of rocking out. Mostly it’s gentle, atmospheric music, well written and played, and well sung. Quite a find for my first random selection.

Rating: 9.5/10

Future Plan: n/a

12-26-2020, 10:15 AM	#47 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Time to take a random prog album from the air. Spin the wheel and see where it lands. Let’s see. First spin give us H, then we need a vowel and it’s O. Another spin gives us U. HO-U.Using Prog Archives’ artists list, that gives us five to choose from: Hour of the Shipwreck, Hourglass, House of Not, House of Rabbits and House of Usher. Spinning a 1 gives us then these guys. Album title: The Hour is Upon Us Artist: The Hour of the Shipwreck Nationality: American Year: 2008 Chronology: 1 The Trollheart Factor: 0 Track Listing: The Chandelier Suite/Save the World/My Fantasy/Soft Napalm Pillow Dreams/Mt. Davidson/Flying/Unclouded Eyes Comments: I have never even heard of these guys before, and this appears to be their only album, released as it was over ten years ago with no followup. A nice kind of Danny Elfman opening before soft acoustic guitar is joined by very soulful vocal and then building percussion as we enter “The Chandelier Suite”, and it’s a nice start I must say. It powers up after a while and hell yes it’s very impressive, some great guitar work here from either Richie Kohan or Marcel Camargo. The vocal harmonies are nice on “Save the World” with a lovely piano and violin intro, and there’s a much heavier feel to “My Fantasy”. Definitely like what I hear so far. It’s interesting to see instruments mentioned here like glockenspiel and autoharp, even a pump organ, and the soundscape is certainly full and rich. “Soft Napalm Pillow Dreams”, in addition to being a very weird title for a song, has a real sense of Dan Fogelberg about the vocal, trips along nicely, while “Mt. Davidson” is a lot more acoustic and laid back, with a feel of early Genesis to it, and some great choral vocals - is that a choir? I don’t know: a conductor is credited but no orchestra or choir -oh wait: Discogs tells me that yes, there is a choir - “Choir of the Shipwreck”. Nice. This choir is then used to great effect on “Flying”, which has some very impassioned vocals, the album then ending (too soon) on “Unclouded Eyes” with some really nice, um, glockenspiel? If I have one small complaint it’s the sudden stops, often to allow vocals alone for a few seconds, and they can get a little obtrusive and annoying, but other than that, pretty damn good and it’s a pity they only put out the one album. Track(s) I liked: everything Track(s) I didn't like: Nothing One standout: n/a One rotten apple: n/a Overall impression: A very competent album by a band who really should have been better known and more successful. Almost a kind of hard ambient, if you can imagine such a thing. Definite elements of Big Big Train at their most pastoral, and while they can get loud they can never really be accused of rocking out. Mostly it’s gentle, atmospheric music, well written and played, and well sung. Quite a find for my first random selection. Rating: 9.5/10 Future Plan: n/a __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-13-2021 at 03:03 PM.