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What Strange Beasts — The Maestro's Tale
(Bandcamp no#, 2021, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-12-30

The Maestro's Tale Cover art

It was only recently that I became aware of What Strange Beasts, even though they’re based only a few miles from where I live. They’ve been holed up in some corner of a Seattle suburb working on a distinctive brand of progressive rock, only to burst out of the gate with The Maestro’s Tale, a lengthy concept album. Like PreHistoric Animals, which I reviewed not long ago, their brand of prog doesn’t lean heavily on retro sounds or odd meters, centering on accessible song-based forms full of great melodies and excellent singing. In some ways, I’m reminded of Nektar’s Remember the Future, a science fictional concept album built up of songs run together into a continuous suite-like structure. What Strange Beasts, like Nektar, is not entirely removed from the rock and roll base of the music. A track like “Up in the Air” plays like a joyful elaboration of something that can be traced back to the 50s in the same way that some of ELO’s big songs of the 70s did. And songs like “You Are Lost” and “Venom” have a bit of the feeling of 70s melodic hard rock like Wishbone Ash, Thin Lizzy, and early Scorpions. They manage these influences without sounding nostalgic, in part due to the use of generally modern tones on guitars and keyboards. There’s only a hint of metal in the guitar sounds. The 17 tracks include nine substantial songs with shorter instrumental interludes between them. The level of musicianship is high, though none of them engage in overt ego-trips — there are no lengthy guitar or keyboard solos. The vocals are strong, with lots of good harmonies. The Maestro’s Tale is a substantial release, and places What Strange Beasts among the top American progressive bands currently active. And they’ve got a sophomore album set for release in February 2023.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): What Strange Beasts

More info
http://whatstrangebeasts.bandcamp.com/album/the-maestros-tale

 

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