Within the first few seconds of Pendragon’s latest album, my dog Dylan was salivating almost as much as me. The reason? Well for Dylan it must have been hearing the ‘dogs of night’ in the opening track “Indigo”. For me, I was quickly reduced to a dribbling shellshock victim by Pure, one the finest prog-rock albums I have heard in a while.
Pure (Toff Records) comes at you like a multi layered masterpiece of highly coloured deeply textured artwork. Add to this some provoking lyrics, and stunning musicianship, and you have an album of extraordinary depth and undeniable quality.
I listened to this album before watching the accompanying, amusing, revealing, and fascinating DVD. It proved to be for the best as I connected with the concept almost immediately without any prior feeds.
“Indigo” opens Pure with a stunning thirteen minute creation written around a set of lyrics that could inspire a block of wood to contemplate life and all its potential problems. “Indigo”, Nick Barrett explains, "is the aura we give out at birth. As we get older we begin to lose it. Even the worst of us begin life pure."
This epic mind boggling track is made all the richer by a huge wall of raw edged and multi dimensional guitar. It is the clever, and considered way the band use sampling that also lifts this track onto an altogether higher plain. Complete with zulu children, barking dogs, and choirs, this is a stunning production.
There is care, thought, craft, commitment, belief, and a desire to express some complex subject matter literally dripping from every note on this album. Just when you think that it can only dip in quality, after such a magnificent opener, up comes “Eraserhead”.
This has Nick exploring the disturbing dangers that seem to connect elements of Communism, to the worst of political correctness. ‘Green has become the new red’ he sings, amid a brash, hard hitting mix.
Article comments
1 - Paul Roy
Nice review. The clips from the new album on their website sound great. I'll definitely have to check this one out.