Spock's Beard
Octane

With the departure of Neal Morse, Spock's Beard certainly lost something... not in terms of creativity and personality but certainly in terms of structure and complexity of compositions... Their sound has become more reflective, melancholic, and atmospheric but at times tends to sideline the compositional sophistication that was a hallmark of the Morse era... Unfortunately, it wasn't just any member who left the band but its main composer... and it's obvious that the compositional flair takes a hit, even though the production led by Nick D'Virgilio is quite respectable.

Aside from discussions... "Octane" is, in my opinion, the band's least successful album, where perhaps the excessive simplicity of the arrangements reigns supreme. In a period when gas prices are skyrocketing, they choose to put a gas pump on the cover, giving the illusion of facing a rather powerful album... yet instead, one encounters a decidedly very soft album, composed of twelve tracks in which the band appears more intimate than ever in the compositions, abandoning odd times and irregular signatures and emphasizing ballads and atmospheric pieces. After attempting with "Feel Euphoria" a rougher album with strong metal, electronic, and industrial influences, the choice might turn out positive but it seems that the tracks were written in a somewhat superficial way, with extremely basic melodies probably aimed at involving the listener in perhaps too immediate a manner.

Truly admirable ballads surely include "I Wouldn't Let It Go," "She's Everything," and "Watching The Tide," with the piano used truly intelligently, while an upbeat "There Was A Time" guided well by drums and acoustic guitar lifts the mood. Wild pieces? Yes, though they are clearly in the minority: the most robust is certainly "Surfing Down The Avalanche" with powerful guitar and bass riffs. However, the track that deserves more attention is "NWC," an instrumental that closely resembles the compositions of solo Neal Morse with well-placed guitars, dark atmospheres, and complex synthesizer lines, proving that the legacy of good Morse is still intact, all in all. But these are all tracks that really cannot compare with what the band has shown in the past. Concluding with the hard rock/country rock of "As Long As We Ride," we can say the album is positive, but we can also add that from a band like Spock's Beard, much more was to be expected.

The following year, the eponymous ninth album of the group will be released. There, they will largely recover their vein of excellent composers (continuing the path taken with the assumption of leadership by Nick D'Virgilio), but it is still not worth demonizing this album.