FM (Canada) – Transformation (2015)
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“Transformation“, is the bold new release – the first in 10 years – from Canadian cult proggressive veterans FM.
This is indeed a very apt title for FM’s new record, for not only has their music transformed numerous times over the years, so has their line-up.
Joining bassist / keyboard player Cameron Hawkins this time round is drummer Paul DeLong (Roger Hodgson / Kim Mitchell), violinist / mandolin player Edward Bernard, who has performed with Druckfarben and violinist (yes, there are two violinists here) Aaron Solomon.
The recording group being completed by legendary Rush, Dream Theater, Fates Warning producer / engineer Terry Brown, who does an excellent job.
So you’ll gather then that the first proper FM album since 1987’s Tonight still follows in its predecessors footsteps of placing violin front and centre. Yet while that may sound risky in today’s often sanitised Prog world, “Transformation” sounds remarkably contemporary and, at the same time, true to this band’s roots.
More beautiful than punchy, in places the songs on this album feel like Yes with copious amounts of violin strung over it, the air being light, melodic and captivating.
DeLong is stunning throughout, his rare ability to be ridiculously busy and intricate, underpinned by a solidity which fixes everything in place. Nary a second goes by where the percussionist isn’t whispering a ghost beat, paradiddling the toms to within an inch of their lives, or alternating between snare, hi-hat and cymbals at break neck speed.
Amazingly, he never interrupts the beautiful flow of the vocals provided by Hawkins, Solomon and Bernard; the trio causing another reason for celebration in the process.
However no album was built on drums and voice alone, so the stunning, varied violin, viola and mandolin work which weaves and dances across Hawkins deep resonant bass and darting, lilting, pointed synth contributions, are as impressive as they are vital to the unbridled success of this album.
There’s a real depth of sound and arrangement across the nine tracks on show, the likes of “Tour Of Duty” a journey from fragile art through fractured beauty, into controlled frenzy.
“The Love Bomb (Universal Love)” and “Brave New Worlds” contrast this approach excellently, a sparse framework thriving on roaming bass, while gentle string stabs allow the vocals to express the emotions of melancholic introspection, but overriding hope and belief displayed in every one of the songs on this album.
And it’s that uplifting feeling which really infuses “Transformation” with the power to captivate and control your attention from start to finish, whether through the harsher attack of the bristling “Re-Boot, Reawaken”, unsettling pulse of “Children Of Eve”, the almost jauntily optimistic “Safe And Sound” or idyllic “Heaven On Earth”.
Often when a band reappears from the past, as if by magic to reclaim their past glories, the results are safe and deflating.
Canadian’s FM “Transformation” however falls far from that trap, instead announcing itself with a triumphant confidence which never fades once as its beauties unfold, and vitally it just gets better with each and every luscious visit to the land of hope and understanding it creates.
Kudos to Esoteric Antenna / Cherry Red Records for releasing & distributing this exquisite piece of art all over Europe.
Highly Recommended.
01 – Brave New Worlds
02 – Cosmic Blue
03 – Re-Boot, Reawaken
04 – Children of Eve
05 – Safe and Sound
06 – Tour of Duty
07 – The Love Bomb (Universal Love)
08 – Soldiers of Life
09 – Heaven on Earth
Cameron Hawkins – vocals, bass, keyboards
Paul DeLong – drums percussion,
Edward Bernard – strings, mandolin, vocals
Aaron Solomon – violin, viola, vocals
BUY IT !
www.amazon.com/Transformation-FM/dp/B00TXH4O8K
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