A lot can happen in one week. I received the latest CD from The Flower Kings and The Tangent, attended a performance from Karmakanic at The Spirit in Verviers, Belgium, got even more CDs from Kaipa and Tomas Bodin….party on! It’s a kind of craziness that’s all neat and tidy and you think to yourself ‘too much of a good thing can be bad for your health’, even if those things are of high quality. But there’s nothing unhealthy here. The Tangent has come out with their second ‘baby’, which is a collaboration with the Swedish guys (Guy Manning and Andy Tillison (PO90)) from The Flower Kings. Dave Jackson, on flute and saxophone, was replaced Theo Travis, who earned his recognition by working with Gong and Porcupine Tree.

The former album, ‘The Music that Died Alone’, was well praised in general by the prog press, as well as by our own staff. The bar was raised once again and The Tangent reached the target without a problem, coming out with a real gem, which one can purchase with no second thoughts.

‘The World That We Drive Through’ was recorded in Sweden and Great Britain, just as the former album was. This long distance collaboration seems to have a beneficial influence on them. The compositions are fantastic, as well as the harmonies. The beautiful melodies are intertwined with shimmering solos. This is progressive rock at its best and all pored into five epic tracks.

The tone is immediately set starting with the first song, “The Winning Game”. It has a typical Canterbury intro, followed by a neo-prog passage and a jazzy piece. These three styles all take place in the course of one minute. That seems to be the plan of this album…a journey of discovery of progressive rock, starting from the 70s until today. You could have credited hundreds of references with this album, yet The Tangent is successful in creating their own sound that’s both surprising and impressive. The saxophone and the flute (Theo Travis ex-Gong) are the main contributors to the Canterbury touch and the vocal presentations add to that 70s feeling. In the first masterpiece, there are a number of interesting solos on keyboard (synthesizer à la Wakeman and Hammond in pure Brian Auger style) and guitar (“Roine Stolt goes Camel) and many more. There are surprising fragments used from “What the World Needs Now” from Burt Bacharach. It’s not really prog, but it’s smoothly integrated into the music. And there’s the short “Soft Machine”, the kind of song one can expect.

After a heavy introduction in the Jethro Tull tradition, you get a strange, unexpected turn that later grows into a true epic. What’s noticeable in the music of The Tangent is the subtle ensemble between different instruments. This occurs between the flute, the guitar and the piano in “Skipping the Distance”. Take a listen to the ‘classical’ intermezzo and at the end there’s even a fantastic duel between saxophone and guitar.

“Photosynthesis” creates a kind of resting point on the album, music by which to dream. It’s rather atmospheric but these guys still crank out some amazing solos.

The title song also contains several different influences, like The Flower Kings with a tinge of Canterbury. This song could have actually been a TFK track from their own album. “The World That We Drive Through” is about the constant failures of man to notice things around him and it has a very recognizable tune. Don’t expect this song to make the Billboard charts. It’s too complex with too many tempo changes.

“A Gap in the Night” (the longest song on the album) is actually a remake of “The Corner Room”, a song from PO90’s very first album. Even though it’s bleak in the beginning, it grows into a neo-progressive epic with, again, lots of influences. This is wonderful music that just skims right over you.

In short, The Tangent’s first album appeared on a lot of people’s wish lists. This follow up CD may even be better. If you ever want to entertain your friends with your favourite music, just put on this CD…it’s the perfect synthesis of progressive rock.