What if we started by asking a somewhat iconoclastic and intimate question? How do you imagine heaven? But please don't hide behind some veil of helplessness. Such a question, and... the answer to it, is, after all, part of every person's metaphysical maturation. It's born at some point and forces them to formulate an answer. However, since it's not my intention to force anyone to reveal their beliefs, I'd like to clarify them. How do you imagine (if at all) a "neo-progressive heaven?" A place where we are alone with ourselves, and our only company is sound, more or less perfectly arranged in musical sequences that create verses and choruses. My neo-progressive heaven is behind the door to the room. First, you have to open it and turn on the light. Then turn a little to the right to come face to face with shelves filled with good musical friends… those who have passed away, and those who continue to enrich this very personal realm, to which even the closest ones don't have such "true" access. Not even they. This heaven doesn't care about time or fashion. It's a place for gatherings with closest friends, a land of magical sound and atmosphere. My heaven is constantly evolving, growing, and changing. Two new guests recently appeared there.
The first of these is Mr. Hans Spitzen, who may not be a well-known artist. He has released one solo album – "Fingerprints" (2015). And no one has probably heard much about it amidst the plethora of music releases. The more inquisitive among you may recognize him as the guitarist for The Flamborough Head, with whom he recorded their latest album – "Jumping The Milestone" (2022). And, so to speak, during this "break," it was time for another dose of solo work – "(…) Yes, it was TIME to release a new album, hence the title. But that's not all: some of the songs on this album touch on the theme of 'time,' which I leave for you to discover..." Please allow yourself to be invited into the world of Hans Spitzen's new release, "About Time."
It won't be a very long journey in terms of the passage of time - just five tracks and about forty-eight minutes of a journey through time / in time / against the passage of time* (choose the appropriate one after listening to the whole thing).
This album has everything it takes to lull even the most weary listener into a state of calm. "The Curse" enchants with its guitar solos and keyboard sequences. It tantalizes with its lightness of sound and shifting moods. And half of the compositions deliver one of the most incredible sonic passages of the year. A big plus is due to the vocals of former Leap Day vocalist Hans Kuypers.
Is this a coincidence in title? Or is it intentional? The second track on the album is titled "Jumping The Milestone"… the same as the title of the album and the track on The Flamborough Head's latest album from 2022. There's nothing mysterious here. Hans Spitzen is the author of this composition and decided to re-record it in a slightly different form on his solo album, and… it worked out well. If the version on The Flamborough Head is, well, progressive-folk, then on the solo album, the composer bares his romantic soul. The simplified arrangement and the atmospheric piano, flute, and keyboards make it impossible to tear yourself away from this over twelve-minute composition. Instead of Margriet Boomsma's voice, Hans Spitzen's – for better or worse… judge for yourself. Keyboards that charm with quiet passages in the background. A slightly sobbing guitar. Grayish vocals without unnecessary tonal acrobatics. And… time doesn't matter, nothing matters. And the orchestration halfway through… a masterpiece. Oh… how many songs of the year can there be…?
Where time flows differently, slower, somehow side by side? Isn't it on a beach, where you can observe the sky, the rolling waves, the jumping fish, and... the joy of carefreeness? That's precisely what the third track on this incredible album – "Out of Here" – is like. The slide guitar works brilliantly here. The rock structure and the emerging sounds of seagulls singing and the roar of waves. Five minutes of guaranteed musical levity, simple joy, and a smile appearing with every note.
If "Jumping the Milestone" showcased the composer's romantic soul, then "The Little Prince," with its arrangement, somehow forces associations with the band Camel, yet at the same time resists such oversimplification. It's a twelve-minute neo-progressive journey through a sea of sounds and shifting arrangements. Twelve minutes that pass in the blink of an eye. The richness of the arrangements surprises and draws you into a world full of sublime solo performances and, seemingly in opposition to their melodic and feisty, grayish vocals. This vocal is the hallmark of this album. A seal that gives it its own distinctive character and serves as a musical lightning rod, protecting the listener from excessive sway.
The passage of time isn't just joy and carefreeness. It's also the significance of the events unfolding around us. The final composition begins in a Pink Floydian vein (similar to "Atom Hear Mother"), but its proper beginning is a fragment of Greta Thunberg's speech at the UN COP25 climate conference – Climate Emergency Event. It's also an instrumental piece warning against carelessness in protecting nature and our world. Nervous, narrative, dramatic, light… mixed and musically multi-layered. There's a heavy organ, a quiet guitar, and a delicate piano. And the cry resounding in both columns: "(…) We need…"
Please open your "neo-progressive heaven" to this album. You won't regret it. There's no superfluous sound here. There's no musical exaggeration. No excessive meticulousness. It's an incredible story about time in its various forms and shapes. And so, out of reviewer duty, I'll just say that this is one of the hottest debuts of the year. And it's good that this album has been released. It's worth quoting the author's words again: "(...) Yes, it was TIME to release a new album." This heaven of mine is growing and evolving. And that's probably a good thing, because time isn't an entity in itself, but merely a measure of change, and these are rapid and, often, unexpected.
