UNTO US – The Human Landscape (2014)
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It’s been five years since singer and composer Huw Lloyd-Jones left the excellent UK neo-prog outfit Also Eden. Despite announcing his UNTO US new project shortly afterwards, there’ve only been a few intermittent social media posts updating us on progress. That gap does add a certain amount of pressure – if after such a gestation period the album was a shocker then the future would surely be bleak.
Happily, the time taken here in carefully pruning and layering these tracks has proved fruitful, and UNTO US “The Human Landscape” is a wonderful and frequently enchanting debut.
Musically ambitious, the songs in “The Human Landscape” manage to remain punchy in spite of approaching the 10-minute mark, and there are only sporadic segments that could be dismissed as filler.
Opener “Towers Of Babel is their finest, containing elegant seams of entwined keyboards and guitars, calling to mind Marillion, Fish and, strikingly, Twelfth Night. The latter comparison is particularly prominent in the vocals, which frequently are as pained as Geoff Mann’s (Twelfth Night eighties’ singer).
The notable improvement in Lloyd-Jones’ voice – noticeably on the terrific “Plan B” and “In A Lifetime” – and the sheer opulence of the musical backdrop gives this album an edge.
Indeed, UNTO US are not another Neo-Prog band. They do not waste time with endless musical landscapes, what you’ll find in “The Human Landscape” is Rock: progressive rock, mostly uptempo and energetic, always melodic and rhythmically articulated.
Of course it’s a great listen for Prog fans, but Melodic Rockers / AOR / Classic Rock enthusiasts will enjoy this CD as well, as all the compositions have a latent thrill.
When founding vocalist Huw Lloyd-Jones left Also Eden in 2009, he had one firm idea for his next project: to bring the fun back to Prog. And he succeeded with UNTO US.
“The Human Landscape” is astonishingly gripping, and well worth the wait.
Very, Highly Recommended.
1. Towers Of Babel
2. Boy
3. In A Lifetime
Part I
Part II
4. A Human Landscape
5. These Four Walls
6. Plan B
Huw Lloyd-Jones (ex-Also Eden) – Vocals
Tom Ennis – Guitar
Alex White – Keyboards, Mellotron
Lee Blu-Sky – Bass
Rohan Jordan-Shah – Drums
BUY IT !
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