Review Summary: prog for the thinking man.
Imagine, if you will, a time when people played music just for the fun of it. A time when using LSD, acid, and marijuana was socially acceptable. I am, of course, talking about the 1960s and 70s. Those times may have been highlighted by craziness, but there also happened to be a lot of good music at the time. In fact, a whole lot of music on the radio now comes from back then. This brings us to a strange question. Why not make music that sounds like 60s and 70s music? While I let you ponder that thought, allow me to introduce a band that does this very thing… with progressive rock.
Knight Area actually started off as a solo project from some Dutch keyboardist called Gerben Klazinga, but ultimately became a full-fledged band. In
Nine Paths, it is clear that the band have matured quite nicely since their debut album. It doesn’t sound like a solo project driven by a keyboardist, it sounds like a band driven by like minds (who happen to have a good keyboardist). They also have an amazingly skilled bassist, and a terrific singer that keeps the band out of the realm of cheese. They are all quite skilled at their respective instruments and mesh perfectly together. Although their first album was released in 2004, it sounds like they’ve been in this band for their entire lives.
As stated before, this is progressive rock in the style of the 60s and 70s (think Rush, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, etc.) and man is it good. With classic songwriting and soaring melodies,
Nine Paths is an impressive album. Also commendable are their laid-back music rhythms which barely exist in prog these days. It’s the kind of music you can smoke a joint to (if that’s your thing), and lie on the patio to while looking at the stars. It’s fairly chill stuff and its elegance is unmatched - exactly what the genre needs. If you can adjust your expectations to fit its ponderous pace, you may find a relaxing, enjoyable prog rock landscape.
