MARILLION – Sounds That Can’t Be Made (2012)

the REAL one

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MARILLION returns with “Sounds That Can’t Be Made”, their 17th studio recording

echoing the great layered sound of albums like ‘Marbles’ and ‘Afraid of Sunlight’, all that Marillion fans hope to hear again.

Of course, you could guess from a look at the track times that Marillion are back in one of their proggier moods this time around, with three songs at over 10 minutes. These three tracks are effectively the tentpoles that hold the album up, being long proggy pieces in the tradition of ‘The Invisible Man’ or ‘Neverland’ from Marbles.

It’s ironic, actually, that Marillion have spent so much energy trying to distance themselves from their mainstream 4-min. song format when in fact in the Hogarth era they’ve produced more long-form tracks than they ever did with Fish.

Album opener “Gaza” might well prove to be one of the most controversial tracks of Marillion’s career – not for its musical content, but for its lyrics and themes, directly tackling the conflicts in Middle East. The music fluctuates from nuancing dark uptempo passages to real prog slow melodies.

The rest of the album is somewhat thematically less heavy going. The middle tentpole, “Montreal”, is a 14 minute tribute to the city written as an account of one of the band’s visits there on tour. It’s ethereal for the most part with a melodious neo-prog middle section.

Closing number “The Sky Above The Rain” is an exploration of relationship difficulties and lack of communication, where the two protagonists are a woman who’s stopped loving her partner but doesn’t want to talk about it. The story is complemented with beautiful instrumentation reinforcing the drama.

All three of the tentpole songs are tour de forces as far as the band’s performance goes, with Mark Kelly’s keyboard soundscapes and Steve Rothery’s guitar solos as always being a particular treat.

As for the shorter songs, the most notable one is probably “Pour My Love”, which features lyrics from John Helmer, who helped Hogarth on previous albums and makes a welcome return here to provide the words for this rather soulful, musically intimate song.

I also enjoyed title track “Sounds That Can’t Be Made” for its melodic line and impeccable vocal arrangements, with Hogarth drawing wonderful verses.

The band don’t seem to have been tempted to include any songs which don’t support the generally fairly progressive tone of the album, with even lead single “Power” having more depth than you might think at first listen and some occasionally rather Steve Hackett-sounding guitar from Rothery.

Same with the more accessible sounds of “Lucky Man”, filled with some rock-pop inflections but definitely filled with a prog instrumentation and arrangements.

If you’re a fan of Hogarth-era Marillion and consider ‘Marbles’ to be one of their better albums, you’re highly likely to see “Sounds That Can’t Be Made” as a return to form.

It is indeed a great album, with all the Marillion essence and a strong melodic orientation but always prog rooted. A very ‘musical’ piece with excellent musicianship and production.

In short; “Sounds That Can’t Be Made” features all the hallmarks of Marillion’s classic work, and that’s a good thing.

Easily Recommended.

1. Gaza

2. Sounds That Can’t Be Made

3. Pour My Love

4. Power

5. Montreal

6. Invisible Ink

7. Lucky Man

8. The Sky above the Rain

Steve Hogarth / vocals, keys, percussion

Mark Kelly / keyboards

Pete Trewavas / bass, backing vocals

Steve Rothery / guitars

Ian Mosley / drums

Pre-Order:

www.amazon.com/Sounds-That-Cant-Be-Made/dp/B008C2H70Y