JETHRO TULL
The Zealot Gene CENTURY MUSIC
Familiar folk prog but with a biblical bent
7/10
Jethro Tull mainstay Ian Anderson describes the band’s new album as meditations on “the inner rage which defines so much of our personality”, while finding parallels in both Old and New Testament scripture. It’s a cryptic approach, to say the least, the populism of modern-day political leaders in the pomp-folk title track aligned to passages from Ezekiel, and the familial avarice chronicled in the country strum of “Jacob’s Tale” rooted in Genesis. There’s a clearer message when pondering a lost 24 hours in the pastoral regret “Where Did Saturday Go?”, a hungover sequel of sorts to the band’s 1973 album A Passion Play.