Detailed Reviews [Thirteen of Everything - 2005 - "Welcome, Humans"]

Prolusion. US foursome THIRTEEN OF EVERYTHING sets the year 2000 as their official year of foundation, and following a demo in 2002 they were signed to French label Musea Records for their debut album "Welcome, Humans", which was released in 2005. The band have released one more album since then, "Our Own Sad Fate", which was self-released earlier this year.

Analysis. Thirteen of Everything is a band that appears to have a desire to herald the spirit of vintage era progressive rock. Which in essence means that they incorporate many elements from the bands of yesteryear, but that they also opt to include details and references of a somewhat more contemporary nature. As an overall experience this is still a retro-oriented production though, but one that features details spanning several rather than one decade in music as such. The initial impressions is that this is a band very much in the style of early 80's Marillion. There are sections of opening song 'Flying East' that could have been incorporated fairly easily into an album such as "Misplaced Childhood" for starters, and a general focus on more atmospheric oriented excursions throughout this song. Floating keyboards and mournful guitar soloing can be found aplenty here. We are also treated to a few section sporting a more expressive orientation closer to the likes of Genesis however, and as this album unfolds more nods in that direction and arguably a stronger expressive nature in general is also unveiled. Hence the organ is given a liberal amount of playtime throughout, combining with both acoustic and electric guitars as well as keyboards for passages of a firmer as well as more expressive nature. Sometimes perhaps a bit too expressive, with the to my ears not always quite perfectly fitting pieces of 'Bird in Hand' as an example of my subjective opinion in that department. But nods on the direction of many known bands will be noticeable for the detailed listener, and then especially those with a specific taste for symphonic progressive rock among them. The seven part mastodont composition 'Late for Dinner' is perhaps the most impressive creation overall on this CD. That it manages to hold your attention for close to half an hour is one aspect of this, but it is also the song where I feel the band manage to compile and use the greatest amount of variation available in their stylistic palette. Here classic era symphonic progressive rock meets up with classic era neo-progressive rock in a good and fruitful manner, atmospheric laden parts and expressive tendencies used and combine to strengthen each other in a well executed manner. The main drawback of this album for some will be mix and production though, as the overall album experience has a bit of a budget feel to it. Not in a dramatic and detrimental manner, but to the extent that perfectionists will notice this and sound aficionados will probably feel slightly bothered by that aspect of this album.

Conclusion. Thirteen of Everything strikes me as a talented bunch of men, and while they probably use a bit too much time to produce their material to become a staple in the progressive rock circle there's no denying the talents of the band. The ones that primarily should take note of this album will in my view be those who have a just about equal passion for late 70's Genesis and early 80's Marillion. Many of those who love and treasure those eras of those bands should find this album to be a real treat.

Progmessor: December 7th 2019
The Rating Room