Pattern-Seeking Animals
Friend Of All Creatures

THE REVIEW

Joking and bantering, Pattern-Seeking Animals have already reached their fifth album. Born from names tied to the Spock’s Beard brand, they initially seemed like a purely melodic project—not even that progressive, to be honest—but actually, they immediately showed incredible creativity, so much so that the label of melodic prog band quickly felt too restrictive.

What should we expect from this fifth work? Well, roughly the same things—which, in the end, are not really the same—because the quartet’s ability to recombine elements and reshuffle the deck is always tangible; more than the same things, I’d say it’s the same attitude, in the sense that Pattern-Seeking Animals still don’t sound like a truly ordinary band and never fail to surprise us with their always-unpredictable solutions. Always brilliant at shaping and fitting together guitar, bass, and keyboard riffs, always skilled at making them sound fresh and distinctive, always careful not to fall into the already-heard trap, not even when more classic elements emerge—because they always know how to fit them into the context, how to give them a new breath. So once again, we find ourselves dealing with strange keyboard sounds, mandolins that never really result in actual folk, flutes, violins, even hurdy-gurdies, and some percussion that’s never really tribal or Caribbean, but also mellotrons and organs updated and contextualized. Those who enjoyed their previous works will certainly have no trouble enjoying this one as well.

And yet… there is a “but,” and it lies in the fact that a certain loss of freshness is starting to make itself felt—just a little, though. A sense of standardization knocks at the door, even if not that strongly. The previous albums featured more unexpected twists, more frequently; here, they surprise a bit less, as if we’re starting, all in all, to get the hang of things. A slowdown of just a few km/h after a long stretch in the fast lane, but still maintaining a very smooth pace—a slowdown that’s quite understandable for a band on its fifth album in six years (a rather anachronistic rhythm, reminiscent of the ‘70s and those annually-released records).

Maybe it’s already time to start thinking about how to redesign the project’s future and reinvent sounds and arrangements so as not to succumb and fall into repetition, but perhaps a break—a fallow period—could be useful. Well, in the meantime, Spock’s Beard are preparing for their big comeback after a long silence; there’s an album in the works, as Ryo Okumoto has shown on his social media profile. We await it with anticipation, but in the meantime, let’s enjoy this “Friend of All Creatures,” which comfortably takes its place among the big releases of 2025.