Debut mini-album from Southampton prog-rockers
You may be forgiven for thinking that five track albums were only brought out by the most self-involved of prog-rockers who spend hours noodling around before finally digging up some tunes. Happily Southampton’s Burn The Fleet take all the best elements of progressive music and blend it with epic rock and the odd grungy moment to create something genuinely surprising and beautiful.
There’s no escaping the progressive influences as this album ebbs and flows like the sea itself. One moment it’s tranquil waters smoothed over with heartfelt lyrics, the next it’s a turbulent storm spiked with perfectly imperfect harmony vocals. The whole album has real scope and a cohesiveness that makes each track distinctive yet part of something greater. Singer Andrew Convey delivers each story with boundless passion and powerful conviction, backed by guitarists James Swabey and Jack Spurway for the distinctive harmony blasts that add extra drive to the already strong beats offered by drummer Ross Barbour.
‘Conduits’ hints at metal influences and is an oddity compared to the rest of the album. The vocals are harsh but still melodic, backed with sharp drums and crushingly dark guitars. Despite a passionate delivery, the first couple of tracks aren’t what Burn The Fleet do best. ‘Nautilus’ has a more, um, nautical feel and allows the band to explore their penchant for melody and vocalisation more. The shout of “prepare the sails” invites the listener into BTF’s music journey, through restrained moments of space to fuzz-drenched guitar riffage and back again.
‘Fictional Children’ is a little gem, striking the right balance between all of BTF’s distinctive sounds: passionate, descriptive vocals, light and dark elements, and powerful drive and melodies. ‘Confessions of a Justified Sinner’ possesses the best guitar work, but doesn’t vary from the previous formula, unless being a little less memorable counts.
‘Handfuls of sand’ is a perfect parting shot, with its anthemic chorus and swaying melody lines unencumbered with the need to throw the kitchen sink into the production. It shows a restraint a the start that allows the band to burst forth with blasting guitars and shouts to great effect. Truly uplifting. It’s hard to imagine this kind of scope being recreated successfully as a live act, but it would be interesting to see. An epic if formulaic mini-album.