SIX BY SIX

Saga meets… Saxon?! Unlikely prog power trio take their chances and roll the dice on impressive debut.

Words: Gary Mackenzie Illustration: Stephen Kelly

Dropping seemingly out of nowhere, the announcement of the Six By Six line-up may have taken some by surprise. While not perhaps radically disparate, the Six By Six threesome probably haven’t featured on too many obvious fantasy band lists. However, it’s gratifying to report that with Saga’s Ian Crichton on guitar, Robert Berry (most familiar for his work with Keith Emerson in 3 and its Berry-fronted successor 3.2) handling bass and vocals, and Nigel Glockler of British heavy metal stalwarts Saxon on drums, this eponymous debut is an unalloyed triumph.

The album undoubtedly draws on their collective past yet creates something refreshingly different in the process. Opener and first single Yearning To Fly boasts a vibrant, funk-fuelled corker of a riff married to lighter pop inclined verses, a chorus with a simple yet effective hook and a brief fiery solo from Crichton, all propelled by Glockler’s direct, muscular presence behind the kit. Almost worth the price of admission alone, it sets the bar pretty high and also signals the band’s intent. Although there are slower, gentler moments and proggy flourishes and atmosphere throughout the album, the emphasis here is very much on rock.

While not sounding quite like anyone else, Six By Six isn’t the most groundbreaking or experimental album likely to be released this year. However, it has a reassuring familiarity and accessibility to it. There are some points of reference musically: The Upside Of Down contains the merest hint of mid-90s Rush meets Bryan Adams (no, really!), it also has an urgent bridge and one of many fist-pumping choruses. The Last Words On Earth arrives in a surge of church organ before launching into a dirty pounding riff. It boasts an occasionally dark and threatening edge, an insistent vocal bridge and features a solo which brings to mind Eddie Van Halen. Both Casino and Save The Night – an undoubted album highlight – momentarily suggest latter-day Spock’s Beard, while Battle Of A Lifetime has verses carried by acoustic guitar and voice, which bring a minor Solsbury Hill vibe. Then there are more anthemic tracks like Reason To Feel Calm Again, which builds on a light celtic-tinged theme before morphing unexpectedly into a big old rock shuffle.

SIX BY SIX PRESS PHOTO BY DAVE LEPORI

"It’s exciting, often potent and demands repeated spins."

Thematically, there are some distinct threads. Whether it’s striving to fulfil our dreams as on Yearning To Fly, finding hope in despair on The Upside Of Down or simply trying to live our best lives and creating legacies to be proud of in the gentle, thoughtful mid-album respite of Live Forever, this is an album that champions positivity and taking chances. Even China with its menacing headlong stomp, and lyrics inspired by the plight of the Uighur Muslims, is a clarion call to stand up to despots and dictators.

The individual performances are tremendous. Fans of Ian Crichton will already appreciate what a fine player he is from his work with Saga over the last five decades, but he excels here. Moving from an arguably more structured and, to quote Crichton himself, “perfectionist” environment in Saga, this three-piece line-up seems to allow him to stretch out and fill more space. Whether carrying the main riffs, providing effective, sympathetic and often inventive rhythm guitar parts, supporting Berry’s vocals or throwing in some fearsome solos, most of which are unedited single takes, he is masterful on this record. From the savage to the deeply expressive, listen to his contributions on Casino, the aforementioned The Last Words On Earth, and Skyfall.

Essentially the instigator of this project, equally key to its winning formula are Robert Berry’s arrangement and production skills and his ability as a multi-instrumentalist and singer. Despite having a career spanning over 30 years and contributing to the ultimately ill-fated Howe/Hackett vehicle GTR, alongside his collaborations with Keith Emerson, it’s a little confounding as to why he isn’t far more familiar to rock and prog fans. His enviable range, clear yet powerful delivery, and ability to shape memorable hooks and melodies provide both an identifiable character and additional dimensions to the band’s sound.

There are no multipart epics or wild, lengthy odd-time workouts here, and, although they add colour and atmosphere in various places, keyboards mainly feature in a purely supportive role. At its core this is an unashamed hard rock prog album, albeit with fantastic playing, stirring vocal hooks and some counter-intuitive gear changes. It’s exciting, often potent and portentous and absolutely demands some repeated spins. With touring being discussed and the band already enthusiastic about recording a second album, this holds the promise of being far more than just a side-project.

DIM GRAY

Firmament ENGLISH ELECTRIC RECORDINGS

More sublime gloom from the rising Norwegian trio.

Dim Gray’s stock has soared quickly. The Norwegian trio’s self-released 2020 debut, Flown, introduced their brittle soundworld where post-rock textures, chamber pop hooks and song-centred musicianship collide. The acclaim led to opportunities – their merch stand sold out of albums after they opened for Marillion at their Swedish weekender in May. This September they’ll support Big Big Train on their European tour, and it’s BBT’s English Electric label that’s releasing the band’s second album.

"Another melancholy yet ultimately uplifting listen."

Firmament is another deeply musical, melancholy, yet ultimately uplifting listen. Ushered in by Håkon Høiberg’s reverb-soaked guitars, opener Mare offers a big chorus, with singer/keyboardist Oskar Holldorff – so natural, earnest and dynamic; a Nordic purity to his tone – sells a story of loss (‘Shades swing from end to end/Will I see you again?’).

The use of water imagery in numerous songs enhances the record’s thematic continuity. Opening with shimmering electric pianos and closing with a devastatingly urgent string part, Undertow uses drowning as a metaphor for suffering. Single Avalon (The Tide) is a grand psychological sea voyage (‘I will reach your shore/Avalon, nothing matters more’). The moody 52~ follows a waterproof camera that’s ‘sinking slow, floating falling’ beneath waves of Sigur Rós-style electronic orchestration and – to these ears – some of the proggy chordal language of Steve Hackett circa Voyage Of The Acolyte.

Clever details make the whole thing shine. Nostalgic reverie Iron Henry opens with the haunting strains of a theremin from guest player Grégoire Blanc. The gorgeous Long Ago has some strikingly effective vocal counterpoint between Holldorff and Høiberg. The latter man sounds like Green Gartside, and he helms the LP’s most upbeat moment – folky, mandolin-rich Cannons – with clear joy.

If that tune’s a diversion from the overwhelmingly mournful (and, in parts, ever so slightly fey) atmosphere, there’s an element of smart, arty pop present too, somewhere between Denmark’s Mew and UK piano trio Keane. The group met at music college in Oslo, and there’s abundant compositional nous at work on Firmament. The title track errs towards musical theatre, and subtly, engagingly, slides through numerous keys to real emotional effect. The ethereal Abalus (In Time), desolate hymn My Barren Road and watery closer Meridian all confirm that Dim Gray were a good study.

Their music invites a comfortingly romantic melancholy and that’s the best mindset with which to approach this fine album. Majestic and wistful, Firmament is a sweeping, beautiful journey. Dim Gray deserve their moment in the sun.

GRANT MOON

ADRIAN BELEW

Elevator BLISS ENTERTAINMENT/INGROOVES MUSIC GROUP

Distinctive session stalwart/Crimson alumnus on the up.

A side from high-profile, career-defining stints with Zappa, Bowie, Talking Heads and, most notably, King Crimson, Adrian Belew has steadily racked up an impressive catalogue of invariably engaging solo albums. Elevator, his 25th, finds the Kentuckian operating at the peak of his form. From its opening shimmer A13, which is immediately reminiscent of Discipline-era Crimson, producer/sole instrumentalist Belew’s broad and idiosyncratic stunt guitar sound palette is as instantly recognisable as his ageless voice. He can be forgiven odd detours into the twee (The Power Of The Natural World, the decidedly McCartney-esque Good Morning Sun), because when he’s good –

Attitude’s skewed collage of abstruse tones, Taking My Shoes Out For A Walk’s eccentric wordplay – he’s excellent. Back To Love’s mellifluous ingenuity could be commercial catnip in other hands were it not enrobed in a disconcerting compendium of wilfully jarring guitar blurts.

Beatles elements abound; from dark Walrus strings to Seventy Going On Seventeen, an irresistible closing confection so irretrievably McCartney it’s virtually giving us puppy eyes. IF

THE BLACKHEART ORCHESTRA

Hotel Utopia THEBLACKHEARTORCHESTRA1.BANDCAMP.COM

Multi-instrumentalist duo return with more ethereal odes.

The Blackheart Orchestra’s Chrissy Mostyn and Rick Pilkington fuse indie-folk, art-rock, electronica, chamber pop, and other cultured styles into individualistically haunting ballads. Hotel Utopia carries that tradition on, evoking everyone from Anathema to Bat for Lashes.

The intersecting guitar patterns and Mostyn and Pilkington’s vocal dualities on The Tide are hypnotic. Safe and Atlantic are equally reserved and vulnerable, yet their irregular melodies, plucked harp notes, and rich harmonies suggest the pastoral imagination of Kate Bush’s early work. It’s not all

delicate and sparse, though, since The Warning juxtaposes its meditative verses with robust choruses that are bolstered by roaring percussion and strings. Even Under The Headlights, Casting Spells, and Translucent – which lean closest toward the anthemic accessibility of mainstream rock – exude sophistication.

The middle of Hotel Utopia is less substantial, particularly the overly digitised Astronaut, while Alive lacks the momentum and complexity to fully captivate. Still, with the glorious devastation of finale The Flood, Hotel Utopia ends up mostly triumphant. JMB

BOSS KELOID

Family The Smiling Thrush Live At Foel Studio RIPPLE MUSIC

Wigan’s progressive metal champions double down live on a superb set.

There’s always been something a bit different about Boss Keloid. Emerging from a murky scene of sludge, doom and stoner rock in 2010, the Wigan-based band took those elements, added prog and jazz time sig touches, and have been consistently moving forward into a field of their own, with LPs such as Angular Beef Lesson and Herb Your Enthusiasm.

With 2021’s Family The Smiling Thrush, the quartet throw even more experimentation into the pot, from medieval folk to highlife, with their signature phat-bottomed foundation ever-present. They loved the studio experience so much they’ve revisited it for this live record, giving extra bite to the hey-nonny nine-minute epic Orang Of Noyn, the powerful Gentle Clovis and the monstrous Cecil Succulent, tracks that Devin Townsend, Mastodon and Primus would fight them for.

The four-piece sound immense under engineer Chris Fielding, but production only does so much; Fielding has excellent material to work with. Confident, consummate musicianship with groove, swing and grace is topped by Alex Hurst’s fulsome, tuneful roar. A masterful re-work. JK

TIM FINN & PHIL MANZANERA

The Ghost Of Santiago EXPRESSION

Seasoned duo concoct fiery new brew.

After the success of Tim Finn and Phil Manzanera’s lockdown collaboration, Caught By The Heart, the pair continue their long-distance creative relationship with The Ghost Of Santiago. For fans of the commercial end of both artists’ work, look no further than Our Love; it shuffles with a fine late Roxy Music rhythm, with some truly splendid echo-heavy Manzanera guitars floating in and out of the mix, and a catchy, affecting vocal hook.

Rosemullion Head, the instrumental centrepiece of Manzanera’s 2015 album The Sound Of Blue is turned into a touching song by Finn about Manzanera’s favourite location in Cornwall. The cumbia flavoured Costeno continues on from the Latin homage on Caught By The Heart’s Mambo! Salsa!. Finn’s voice has developed into a beguiling whispercroak, like an angelic Tom Waits; its capture, loud and clear in the mix gives The Ghost Of Santiago a startling quality. It’s the splendour and economy of Manzanera’s guitar that ever thrills and wrong-foots; at once metallic and discordant, then warm and ameliorating. Caught By The Heart offers another fine glimpse into the world of two of music’s most singular talents. DE

NICK FLETCHER

The Cloud Of Unknowing NICKFLETCHERGUITARMUSIC.COM

Compelling second voyage by the Hackett-approved guitarist.

N ick Fletcher’s best known as the guitarist for John Hackett, whose brother Steve has described as “probably the best jazz rock guitarist in the country, with a classical guitar technique to boot”.

The follow-up to Fletcher’s 2021 debut Cycles Of Behaviour, The Cloud Of Unknowing shares its name with a written work of Christian mysticism, and is billed as a spiritual “voyage of our inner selves to take us from darkness to light”. Lifesigns/Iona member Dave Bainbridge is on keyboards here, with former Earthworks/Steeleye Span bassist Tim Harries in the band too.

Cue some fleet-fingered instrumentals that broach sub-Holdsworth fusion (Out Of The Maelstrom) and get metal-heavy at times (Dance Of The Hydra). The nine-minute title track and 10-minute closer, The Paradox, feature vocalist Stuart Barbour, who deals admirably with some unwieldy lyrics and tricky phrasing.