Music Banter - View Single Post - Anteater Presents: An Essential Guide To Modern Prog.

Anteater · 10-26-2009, 10:41 PM

6.

Thieves' Kitchen – The Water Road (2008)

1. The Long Fianchetto (21:01)
2. Returglas (4:12)
3. Chameleon (9:00)
4. Om Tare (7:44)
5. Tacenda for You (9:34)
6. When the Moon is in the River of Heaven (7:46)
7. Plaint (2:35)
8. The Water Road (11:13)

Beginning with a Swedish band called Anglagard back in 1992, the dank Mellotron-drenched schema originally pioneered by classic ensembles such as King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator has for over a decade now held a fairly good-sized niche in modern prog. canon. Too bad most of the bands who are part of that particular niche are hella boring and lack the ability to create anything memorable. From Anekdoten to Sinkadus to Wobbler...it's all just a big ol' pile of meh!

Thank the heavens above then for Thieves' Kitchen, a group who, on a little-known 2008 album called The Water Road, actually managed to innovate and breathe life into this approach with one fell swoop. This is partly due to the wonderful presence of Amy Darby on vocals, but also because the music gives listeners something most retro-prog does not: space. Take this part from the opener 'The Long Fianchetto' for instance:

The piano and jazzy drums, along with the cello and melancholic guitar licks is just so much more interesting and open from a listening perspective than the typical Mellotron-overwashing+guitar shredding. Although it still gets heavy at times, the fact that the interplay reminds me more of The Mahavishnu Orchestra than Spock's Beard is really something to be admired, with part 2 of our opening epic a prime cut for the ear in this regard;

These people CAN play, but they also fully grasp those principles of restraint and ambience so oft forgotten in a genre that prides itself on excess. Hence, I can also vouch that the rest of The Water Road is rather fantastic throughout the rest of its lineup, especially in the moments where flute and/or vocals take precedence over the usual antics you come to expect in this genre. Truly top class material, and at times seemingly beyond the trappings of a time or musical label in how it appeals to my senses:

So for those seeking progressive rock with steller atmosphere, timeless beauty and an ever-welcome shifting jazzy dynamic to keep things interesting, Thieves' Kitchen are just what the doctor ordered.