BOMBER GOGGLES – Gyreland [digipak] (2018)
The BOMBER GOGGLES are California composers, Peter Matuchniak, Vance Gloster and Steve Bonino who have come together to work on a totally new musical project and are presenting the CD called “Gyreland“. The band is joined by the illustrious Jimmy Keegan on drums to deliver a classic collection of neo prog songs that showcase the band’s ability to play music with precision and emotion.
Guitarist Peter Matuchniak has been around the progressive scene for nearly forty years now, firstly with Janysium, and then with Mach One when he and Simon Strevens were both asked to join. They became a popular band in the Eighties, with various releases and performances at The Marquee etc.
Matuchniak leter moved to the States, workind as solo artist and with Gekko Projekt, which stupendous last album was featured here at the blog.
The curious name of this new band comes from the first two letters of the member’s last names: Bo, Ma, Gl, and pronounced it phonetically as “Bomaggle”.
It was never intended to be their band name in first place, until accidentally Matuchniak referred to them as “Bomber Goggles”. All musicians laughed, but the name stuck and everyone closer to the band suggested to keep the name.
But what about the album itself?
“Gyreland” tells the story about a new continent that is constructed out of the plastic debris that is floating in our oceans. As the currents swirl, they bring the plastic closer together, something we are witnessing in our oceans today. The oceanic swirl is called the Gyre, and so in the story the new inhabitants name this new floating continent “Gyreland”.
As more people are drawn to this new place, they experience a strange phenomenon, where they can almost anticipate each other’s thoughts and it allows them to build Gyreland at an unprecedented pace.
Given that the topic of plastic in the oceans is incredibly topical at present, in many ways it could be argued that this is the most relevant progressive album out there.
In fact, it exists a Great Pacific garbage patch, which is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean discovered between 1985 and 1988. Estimates of its size vary between being equivalent to Texas or equivalent to Russia, but at the very least it is huge.
And now we have a progressive rock band singing a story about a mythical continent that is built out of the plastic debris ? Seems more relevant than “Tales of Topographic Oceans” to me.
Musically, Bomber Goggles play neo prog, but not your common prog. There’s song format (no lengthy pieces) and the arrangements, in many ways, are so far removed from the traditional progressive patterns.
There is something about their melodic crossover poppy progressive rock with harmony vocals that make them quite unique, with a modern production sound.
“Gyreland” is a debut album, but by a band whose members have been working in the scene for a great many years, and the guy who dropped in to provide drums completed the whole album in one day! (ok, so Spock’s Beard’s Jimmy Keegan is an incredibly well-known drummer, but that is some feat for anyone).
I am not going to pick a particular track and point to the benefits of this or that, but will just say that this is an incredibly accessible and enjoyable album from the very first time it is played, and it only gets better the more it is listened to.
Highly Recommended
01 – Land of Plastic
02 – The Gyre
03 – Building
04 – Telepathy
05 – Oh Gyreland
06 – The World We Really Want
07 – Renewed World
08 – We Are Not Alone
09 – Triangle of Power
10 – Uneasy Truce
11 – Invasion
12 – Wistful Waves
13 – March of Tides
Steve Bonino (Vocals, Bass)
Peter Matuchniak (Guitars, Vocals)
Vance Gloster (Keyboards, Vocals)
special guest:
Jimmy Keegan [Spock’s Beard] (Drums)
BUY IT !
bombergoggles.bandcamp.com/album/gyreland
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