Short Reviews [Returned To The Earth - 2024 - "Stalagmite Steeple"]

Life would be somewhat boring if we all liked the same thing, as I way saying to a friend the other day if that were the case we could all be listening to Kanye West and watching Love Island. Happily many of refuse to go with the rest of the flock and instead find our own paths which are often much harder to follow but are always significantly more interesting. Here we have the latest album from Robin Peachey (vocals, guitar), Steve Peachey (keyboards), and Paul Johnston (drums) who are back with their fifth album, their second for GEP. When I reviewed ‘The Watcher’ I said there must have been some discussions on whether to include these guys on ProgArchives as while they had been influenced by the likes of The Pineapple Thief there were also elements of Pet Shop Boys and Nik Kershaw. This album is far more emotional and atmospheric in nature, and I would now add no-man and Porcupine Tree to the mix, and I can certainly understand why some people have been giving this maximum marks, but not me. To me this album is far too one-dimensional without enough dynamics, and while that makes it perfect background music is not something I really want to listen to intently as to be honest it is just too boring. There is a market for this style of prog, but to me it is just too middle of the road without enough twists and turns to make it consistently interesting. I am not sure if I am scathing enough to call it “prog by numbers”, but it is pretty close, and even having played it multiple times I still feel that way. As I said at the beginning, it would be awful if we all liked the same thing, so be aware that many think this album is a wonderful release in every way, but I am not one of them.