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Rating: It's useless: for those who run, headphones are by far better than the less bulky earphones. The former, despite their aesthetic limits (for those who care about this aspect. Not me, at least not in this context!), guarantee a clean, powerful, perfect sound, isolating from all external noise. The latter, no matter their shape or model, will always tend to progressively detach from your ears or at least loosen their grip due to continuous movements (and sweat), so much so that the bass impact on the sound you are trying to enjoy and desperately clinging to is almost zero, seeking stimulation-excitement-distraction for/from your effort to not think about what you are doing and not listen, at the moment of greatest fatigue, to the inevitable and fateful question "but why the hell am I doing this? Wasn't it nice on the couch with the TV series or Big Brother on TV???... um... actually no, if that's the alternative, it WASN'T better!! So immediately out on the bike path!"
Recently, after for a few days the "random play" function of the mp3 player had occasionally proposed some tracks from the album I am about to talk about, I decided, pleasantly intrigued by these "random tastings," to run one evening listening to it in full and of course with headphones (goodbye earphones! I want the depth of sound!).
What follows are the impressions I reached after three or four runs / three or four listens...
What I am about to say will not certainly meet the favor of the most uncompromising progsters who unconditionally love this valiant American band, those (and there are not few, considering we're talking about one of the most important bands in the current international progressive, or neo-progressive, scene) who have been following and appreciating them since their debut "the Light," now almost 20 years old.
Well, I feel like saying that this latest arrival in the "Spock's Beard" house might actually be their best album, and I'll explain why.
In the first 7 years of their career, the Spock's were led by the singer-keyboardist Neal Morse, a talented composer who drawing on both European and American prog tradition put together works of undeniable value (generally considered their best by critics and fans) that, in my opinion, were somewhat verbose, inconsistent, pompous, creating, at least for me, some difficulty in listening to one of their albums all together, in one breath. My favorite from that period is perhaps "V," the one with the best and most impactful melodies, along with the simpler "Day for Night," while the acclaimed double concept "Snow," a kind of Spock's Beard's "the Lamb lies down on Broadway" and the last album with Neal Morse, before his Christian conversion and consequent solo career, did not enthuse me.
Curiously, just like with Genesis, here too the drummer (the talented Nick d'Virgilio) after the double concept with shorter songs and no more suites and the subsequent departure of the singer-leader, takes the reins of the group handling the vocals himself, with good results, one must admit. With Nick on vocals, Spock's released four good albums ("Octane" and "X" the best, in my opinion), demonstrating they know how to survive well (better?) the departure of their historical leader.
However, a new change at the microphone awaits the American group, as after the release in 2010 of "X" (of which I highly recommend the final suite "Jaws of Heaven") the drummer-singer also leaves the band (again, like Genesis!!!), and the three survivors - namely Dave Meros on bass, Ryo Okumoto on keyboards and Alan Morse on guitar, brother of the "resigned" Neal - choose an excellent replacement, already well known to progsters, namely that Ted Leonard, splendid interpreter of Enchant. And the choice couldn't have been better, since the vocals and the performance of the new entry represent one of the reasons for the success of this latest album.
"Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep," released in 2013, is a little gem in their discography. Ted Leonard demonstrates that he has immediately integrated into the band and adapted to their style, churning out broad and immediately impactful melodies, catchy refrains, varied choirs, and in general a gritty and convinced performance, despite joining a band already seasoned and mature.
Right from the solemn piano opening of "Hiding Out," we understand that Kansas are one of our major influences, displaying from the start their symphonic and emphatic style and the grandeur typical of Steve Walsh and company, but as always contaminating it with the baroque and the brightness of Yes. What comes out is indeed a cross between the American school (and thus yes solemnity and emphasis but also simplicity) and the European prog one, with Gentle Giant and their vocal interweavings always present here and there, especially in "Afterthoughts," a kind of sequel to the historical "Thoughts" that made an appearance in "Beware of Darkness" and "V."
The best pieces I point out to you, in addition to the already mentioned opening track, are certainly "I know your secret," a great piece full of groove, built on a solid and right riff and embellished with a gritty refrain with a killer shot (you wouldn't say for a prog group, but as you've understood their prog is sui generis, being very inclined to song form, even when the timing stretches), as well as more relaxed and atmospheric parts, and the penultimate "Something very strange," truly splendid in its being rich in embroidery à la Yes yet suddenly simple and winning like a piece by Asia but more powerful, dynamic, gritty. The refrain here too is absolutely winning, the instrumental parts excellent, rich yet always intelligible, never too convoluted. Morse's solo towards the end of the track, in crescendo, just before Leonard delights us again with the refrain, confirms everything, resulting melodic and synthetic but focused, never sprawling or thrown there as sometimes happens to those who do prog thinking fundamentally to show off...
In conclusion, the album is fresh to listen to and highly enjoyable, never tedious, varied just right but never inconsistent, not pompous as they often were with Neal Morse, and, last but not least, embellished by the best singer ever appeared on a Spock's Beard album.
If you mix the groups I've mentioned to you - Kansas, Yes, Gentle Giant, and Asia - but imagining it all with a fuller, more powerful, modern sound, you will have a faithful idea of how these guys sound today. And that's saying something.
For me, I repeat, it's their best album, because it has the right punch, it's pleasant to listen to all the way through, without faltering, without wanting to skip any part.
If you get your hands on the limited edition, you'll have a bonus CD of absolute value, because consisting of equally successful tracks and strangely excluded from the album, above all a brilliant "Wish I were here" rich in groove and characterized by an original (for them) psychedelic singing between Beatles and Tame Impala resting on a nice riff of guitar and keyboard and fitting effects.
Spock's Beard have never been in better shape: listen to believe!
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