Here we have the latest release from current/past members/collaborators of Spock’s Beard, Ted Leonard (lead vocals, guitar), John Boegehold (synths, programming, Mellotron, guitars, ronrocco, vocals), Dave Meros (bass) and Jimmy Keegan (drums, percussion). This is their fifth since their 2019 debut (during which time there have been no releases from SB), and their first on GEP Records. I did smile when I saw that, as I first came across ‘The Light’ nearly 30 years ago when Martin Orford sent me the American original, telling me that GEP were about to release it in the UK, so in some ways it feels we have come full circle.
All those involved are great musicians, and have worked together in one way or another for decades and here it really shows. Meros has always been one of the very finest, and criminally under-rated, bassists in the prog world and here he can often be found holding down the melody while others around him spin off at tangents. Leonard may be first and foremost a singer, but has found a great niche alongside Meros and Boegehold, filling in the gaps (in a not too dissimilar role to Rutherford, who has always been primarily a bassist), while at the back is the man deemed fit to replace D’Virgilio so is no slouch either. One can only wonder what the path would have been for Spock’s Beard if Boegehold had joined the band prior to Okomuto, as his approach to keyboards is somewhat different and he relishes the opportunity to bring in banks of sound.
P-SA are a band who unfortunately will always be compared with SB due to who is in it, but five albums I there is no doubt they are very much creating their own identity which is somewhat lighter, more commercial, yet still contains enough quirks and shifts to make it continually interesting and making the listener want to continue listening and enjoying what they are hearing. It is bright and easy to listen to, without ever falling into easy listening, dynamic and fun with Leonard’s vocals often to the fore. I am not sure if we are ever going to get a new release from SB, but given how active this quartet is it is possible that possibility has been laid to rest, but with music as consistently good as this maybe that is not a bad thing.
