Short Reviews [My Own Army - 2023 - "A King On Every Corner"]

My Own Army is an alternative/progressive rock band hailing from Rotterdam, and currently comprise Herman de Kok (vocals, guitar), Sven Spierings (drums, electronics), Ferry Westdijk (bass) and Vincent Hekkert (guitar, backing vocals). They have been around for quite a while, releasing their debut album back in 2014, but it has taken until now for them to return with a follow-up. Apparently, they used to be more grunge based, but these days state they are influenced by A Perfect Circle, Tool, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Wheel, and Porcupine Tree which is certainly quite different to what most prog bands would reference. But MOA are not most prog bands, while Porcupine Tree are an obvious starting point it has definitely been moved more into the grunge and rock area, and I would be interested to see where PA would put them as there are grounds for them to be included in neo, or crossover, or even excluded from the site altogether as they are not “Prog” enough. Given their music used to be heavier it is probably no surprise that this feels like music which is venturing into prog as opposed to coming to prog first, yet it is no less interesting for that. This is music which is quite unlike much of what is around at present and certainly feels as if it would have had a much easier home 30 years ago than it does now. Yet somehow this does not seem dated but rather something quite fresh and exciting even as it brings together influences and themes from times past. The issue they are going to have is that they are possibly going to find themselves between two different camps of fans, as they could be too prog for one and too commercial grunge for the other, but for me this is a fresh and invigorating approach to the scene and let us hope we do not have to wait so long for the third album.