Short Reviews [The Tangent [for one] - 2024 - "To Follow Polaris"]

This is a very unusual release in that when discussions commenced as to when the band could get together to work on the next album following on from 2022’s ‘Songs From The Hard Shoulder’ it was not going to be easy given that band members could be seen onstage all over the world with Steve Hackett, Soft Machine, Karnataka, David Cross, It Bites, Cyan and others, plus on recordings by those artists and The Anchoret, The Michael Dunn Project, Argos and Retreat From Moscow. In fact, apart from a solitary gig in April 2023 it was unlikely anything could be achieved, so what to do? They came up with an interesting compromise in that the band’s leader/main writer Andy Tillison would keep the material coming and then record the album on his own, hence the slight amendment to the band name – this is not expected to a permanent or long-term arrangement, but rather that Andy would do this one by himself and everyone else will return for the next one. What transpired over the following year is in one sense an "absolutist" solo album and is entirely the work of one person in all aspects including artwork, layout, design, lyrics, composition, performance, recording, production, mixing, mastering and authoring. But in another sense, it's totally Tangent. Produced between January and November 2023, the album features Andy using his multiple keyboards system as normal but adds to the mix his first ever released performance on Bass Guitar and his second on stick driven (electronic) drums. Add electric and acoustic guitars and electronic wind controller and this is a full band recording in every sense of the word. Anyone who has followed Andy over the years will not find any of this surprising, as the man has always been a huge talent, and I loved his work with PO90. Back in the 90’s when he was also a Diskdrive his work with Guy Manning was exceptional and that has only continued as he has been working with other musicians and even states this album would not have been possible if he had not been working with the likes of Luke, Jonas, Steve, Theo and past members of his bands. He has always been massively influenced by Peter Hammill (check out the excellent ‘No More Travelling Chess’ if you can find it) and here he has allowed himself to move The Tangent slightly more in that direction but what is remarkable is that unless one has read somewhere that this is a solo release one would never believe it, as this feels like a band taking the next step in their musical journey, not one person in a studio sweating over every aspect. It is easy for solo musicians to get wrapped up in the performance as opposed to the outcome, but there is no doubt that here Andy has stayed true to his vision for the band and has produced an album the rest of the guys would have been happy to play on if they had had the time and availability. The listener may start by thinking how clever it is, but soon falls into enjoying this very British prog album, which builds on what has come before and prepares us for the future.