Marillion
Sounds That Can't Be Made

I hope that, as usual, the usual controversies about the band’s past—remote, recent, and present—don't restart: whether Fish was better than H, whether they were better as prog than pop, etc., etc.... Personally, having followed them for 30 years—that’s how long it’s been since their debut—I find it rather saddening when people inevitably make inappropriate comparisons about a band that has changed its face and "sounds" on several occasions over three decades. However, they have maintained an unbroken thread, which, in my opinion, has only improved over time with a musical maturity that is hard to criticize.

And I hope the distinguished and very talented members of the band don’t take it badly, but we must acknowledge that "H" took the leadership of the group with courage and pulled it into a well-defined artistic dimension. This may be criticized by genre purists, a definitely more "pop" dimension compared to the past but with an enviable quality and technique. "Sounds that can't be made" doesn’t add anything to the third artistic era of Marillion, which for me is post-"Marbles". I expected nothing different, and indeed, the album seems to consolidate a very precise line of sound quality, with excellent arrangement finishing.

This, I believe, is essentially what today’s Marillion "fan" looks for—without absurd pretensions of old memories now tucked away in the drawers of recollection. "Sounds" is enjoyable from an atmospheric point of view; it’s like a sunny spring day without wind, after a storm, which could be comparable to "Gaza", the first track—demanding, logorrheic in length, but rough, harsh, intense, and dramatic like the theme it deals with. It’s a beginning that needs to be digested (it takes more listens to appreciate the track), then refined pieces up until "Montreal", another very long piece and another gem of the album, more immediate and less structured, but here the spring sun really burns at times! Here "H" excels, in my opinion, with a perfect interpretation. I'll see Marillion in Milan in January, and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear "Montreal" closing the concert, perhaps next to another sacred piece like "Neverland".

The rest is well-done routine work, but it remains routine work to close an absolutely pleasant album. I believe these are times of lean, very lean years; masterpieces are different, but albums like this one are very welcome!