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Review:
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Formed at Westminster University, England, in 2003,
Pure Reason are one of the new breed of nu prog bands that
sound more like bands such as Muse, Pendulum, The Prodigy,
Scissor Sisters, OMD, Tears For Fears, I:Shintilla, Jellyfish
and the more contemporary industrial releases by Depeche
Mode and Gary Numan than anything from the 70's, although
there is far more than an echo of Fleetwood Mac and The
Beach Boys in their melodies and harmonies. They are also
one of the few to have crossed over into the mainstream
with appearances on such conservative monoliths as the BBC.
The result on this their third album is massive, catchy,
groovy, industrial synth rock stuffed with throbbing bouncing
sequencers, rich synth motifs, banging beats, chiming guitars
and whirling electronica all topped by those glorious melodies
and harmonies. Lead singer, guitarist, keyboardist and main
songwriter Jon Courtney reminds me at times of a less nasal
James Taylor, with French/British bassist and keyboardist
Chloe Alper on co-vocals, and it was co-produced and written
by Tom Bellamy from the band The Cooper Temple Clause. The
thrashing angry 'Fight Fire' (video on Female Voice blog)
starts the album with potent intent as we move through infectious
melodic songs like 'Black Mourning' and 'Patriarch', and
heavier and darker more industrial numbers such as 'Last
Man, Last Round' and 'Valour'. They are called a progressive
band mainly because, like Muse, they refuse to be pigeon-holed
and are always willing to do something different, shown
by the the extraordinary electronic 'Blitzkrieg' with its
piano and voice interlude and the humongous epic 'Open Insurrection'.
By the song titles you can certainly see the theme of First
and Second World War history running through the lyrics.
The whole album is beautifully put together with a natural
flow, and the quality of the production is a given. Anyone
who enjoys crossover bands like Muse and Pendulum and industrial
synth rock like Gary Numan and Depeche Mode will love this,
together with traditional prog fans who fancy something
contemporary, it has all the traditional values of melody,
musicianship and progression, but with a modern twist and
mainstream appeal. Hammer your way to http://www.purereasonrevolution.co.uk/
for more info. The album is pure quality, and for this reason
I will give it a revolutionary 9 out of 10.
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