long earth - an ordinary life - 2024
“... the third album from the Scottish outfit Long Earth ...”
intro
This album came as a surprise to me in the mailbox. The album with the title "An Ordinary Life" is the third release of the Scottish band Long Earth. The album was released on Grand Tour Music. Grand Tour rings a bell, don't you remember their fantastic "Heavy On The Beach" album. A project of Hew Montgomery who we know as keyboardist of Abel Ganz. After "The Source" and "Once Around The Sun", "An Ordinary Life" is the third album of Long Earth. I received the album from vocalist Martin Haggarty who has been part of the band as vocalist since "Once Around The Sun". Previously he did the production and backing vocals on the debut album "The Source".
The website of the band gives more clarity; "Long Earth is a progressive rock band based in Glasgow, UK. Formed in 2016, the lineup has links to long established proggers Abel Ganz, at one point involving 4 former members. In 2017, Long Earth released their debut album "The Source", which received warm praise from critics and prog fans alike, and saw them established on the Scottish live scene, gigging alongside bands such as Abel Ganz, Crystal Palace and Alan Reed, who also featured on "The Source" as a guest narrator. Following the introduction of former Abel Ganz vocalist Martin Haggarty in 2018, the band wrote and subsequently released their second album "Once Around the Sun"."
line-up
Mike Baxter - piano, synthesizers, Hammond C3; Martin Haggarty - vocals, backing vocals; Renaldo McKim - electric, acoustic & ambient guitars; David McLachlan - bass guitar; Alex Smith - drums, triangle
review
The album opens with the first of two long songs that clock in at over ten minutes. In "Flight The Hand That Bleeds You" (10:39) you can immediately hear where they get their inspiration, the music of Long Earth falls into the category of wonderfully melodious Neo Prog. The band treats you to full keyboard carpets and melodic guitar work. The keyboard parts of keyboardist Mike Baxter in particular are well received by me. But the melodic guitar work of Renaldo McKim in the second part is really beautiful. At the end Renaldo solos in a higher gear. In terms of composition it is well put together, the song remains captivating.
The band slows down a bit with the next song "Morpheus" (6:54). Accompanied by a subdued musical accompaniment, singer Martin Haggarty presents the storyline. Morpheus is one of the Greek gods of dreams. A good title for this song about dreams. "Just a dream within a dream". "Life i" (6:03) is the first part of three songs with the title "Life". The theme of the album is the fact that we all go through almost the same phases in life. Growing up, leaving the house where we grew up, finding a place in society, finding a new home, developing friendships, falling in love, starting a family. This first part of 'Life" starts with the phase of leaving home and leaving the nest. This song opens with delicate piano playing. There are beautiful melodic vocal choruses in this song which also has a ballad-like form. Only in the last instrumental part the guitars and keys swell a bit.
The title "Sand" (7:08) comes from the term "The Sands of Time". The song has more rhythm and in these passages I suddenly had to think of Geoff Mann, the vocalist of Twelfth Night. It has to do with the way the first part of the vocal chorus is constructed. Musically speaking, I don't make any comparisons, but I am curious if I am the only one who hears this. Then it's time for the second long song that exceeds the 10-minute time limit. The track is titled "Shadows" (10:57). It also has a quiet musical build-up and you can enjoy beautiful vocal melodies again. In these somewhat longer songs, the guitars and keyboards get more space. The instrumental parts are very beautiful. But it remains quite mellow. In the last part you can enjoy those beautiful melodic guitar work and fine synth parts again. That being said, those somewhat longer songs appeal to me the most. "Life ii" (5:27) tells again about the next phases in the life of man. This song has a bit more rhythm and has a nice melodic synth solo.
The next song is one of my personal favorite tracks. It's called "Moscow" (8:09) and has a contemporary theme when you look at the situation in Ukraine. Musically speaking this track has more power. The wide keyboard carpets come into their own better in this mix. In addition to those fat keys, the electric guitar also gets more space in this fine track. The album ends with the track "Life iii" (7:57). It is again a song with a calm character. Beautiful melodies and slow vocal parts. The bass part in combination with the beautiful guitar work is very nice. The keyboard orchestrations are also great. It is a nice end to a fine Neo Prog album.
conclusion
The Scottish Long Earth has delivered a fine Neo Prog album with "An Ordinary Life". In overall, the character of the music lies in the mellow part of the Progressive Rock spectrum. The two songs that exceeded the 10-minute limit ("Flight The Hand That Bleeds You" and "Shadows") are together with the song "Moscow" the most interesting for me and the lovers of Progressive Rock. It is an album that is balanced and forms a whole. If you like beautiful melody lines, you are in the right place with this album. For me this was a first introduction to the music of Long Earth and it tastes like more. I am curious how this band will develop in the near future.