IQ
Resistance

IQ has taken the habit of exaggerating, of doing things on a grand scale. With the previous album, they had done so unofficially, presenting the second disc as a bonus without really being convincing, perhaps they weren't sure that it would work and be liked, but this time it's officially a double album. And once again, the result is incredible; the historic neo-prog band brings all their experience and skill to deliver yet another magnificent album, as they have always known how to do.

The style of "Resistance," the eleventh album by the British band, is roughly the dark and tentatively hard sound of the previous two albums, particularly borrowing from the latest a desire to experiment with unique sounds, albeit with slightly less declared courage, while drawing the atmospherically somewhat science-fiction vibe from "Frequency." Overall, it seems to be the perfect middle ground between the two works. The cover, which seems set on a Martian planet bathed in a fiery sun almost at the end of its cycle, really appears to introduce us to the album's atmosphere.

If "The Road of Bones" had a more traditional first disc and a more experimental second, here the opposite happens. The first disc is characterized by sounds that we could define as "alien" or "space-like," the tracks it contains could be inserted into any science fiction movie and fit perfectly. It is not at all prohibitive to compare listening to a space journey aboard a spacecraft or to a black and apocalyptic night sky, yet brightened by a thick band of stars; it's a bit like star-gazing on a lawn far from the city on a cool and breezy night.

Dark, barely audible electronic sounds, melodies far from romantic, guitars tentatively hard without any metal intent, rhythmically composed and ordered tracks devoid of a certain instrumental dynamism, these are the characteristic ingredients in this first half of the work, specifically forming the base of tracks like "A Missile," "Rise," and "Stay Down." An atmosphere of true alien invasion can be found in "Alampandria," where a vibrating carpet and sick, psychedelic sound splashes seem to truly give the idea of a spaceship landing in a field on a silent night. The track that deviates most from the spirit of the album is undoubtedly "If Anything," which offers an unusual foray into ambient and relaxing new age, a song more than ever for a night on the couch after a stressful day's work, yet its presence on the album doesn't seem accidental; it seems to serve the purpose of briefly breaking the tense atmosphere and offering a purer, more earthly moment. A more dreamy and delicate melody closer to the classic IQ approach is also found in "Shallow Bay," but that tense and neurotic drumming places it in line with the unsettling atmosphere. The 15 minutes of "For Another Lifetime," introduced by sounds reminiscent of harmonium ones, instead serve as a bridge to the second disc, a crescendo of intensity and instrumental dynamics that dissolve into the melodic ecstasy of the lengthy finale, a composition closer to the IQ style that hints at what the second disc will be like.

The second CD experiments less and is more in the typical IQ style, yet still maintaining a more or less dark approach without a significant stylistic gap between the two discs. The sound is less space-like and more earthy, still always nocturnal or at least twilight; this time, long, elaborate, and instrumentally dynamic compositions prevail, the guitars are less hard, and the melodies more airy and dreamy, a more typically neo-prog style takes over. The two long suites can hardly disappoint progressive lovers, "The Great Spirit Way" offers 21 truly sublime minutes, a cerulean and silent intro, haunting big keyboards, instrumental escapes, sudden accelerations, strong bass lines, whirling organ and synthesizer solos, a slow and dreamy central section almost like a lakeside landscape, a whole mix of solutions that cannot leave one indifferent; "Fallout," on the other hand, is less daring and perhaps may seem a bit dispursive and drawn out, but with its variety of solutions, it's hard to think of cutting even a piece, anyway, the intro and outro are a beautiful example of psychedelic and deep ambient. "Perfect Space" manages to concentrate everything within a less substantial duration, "Fire and Security" is, on the contrary, an orderly track focused on melody, a fairly simple, fresh, and relaxed melody.

Years pass, now almost 40, and we know how difficult it is to keep inspiration so high for so many years; many bands after so many years no longer seem as inspired, yet IQ, the older they get, the more they mature and grow, so much so that their recent works can hold their own against the older ones. "Resistance" can only satisfy neo-prog lovers.