Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Occasionally it’s possible to see greatness flow from one human being to another, to witness first-hand the skill and temperament that one may have in abundance and slowly be taken on by another. Of course some are born with natural ability and their expertise tends to blow people’s minds. Such is the tantalising prospect awaiting any listener who makes a bee-line for Nick Magnus’ new album N’Monix.
Steve Hackett over the years has had plenty of reasons to smile whilst playing on stage and he is also responsible for having Nick Magnus on stage alongside him during the period from 1978 to 1989, and it shows in N’Monix, as the album is a timely reminder of the power of Progressive Rock and how the story teller relates to his audience. The prompt of the composer’s art, the steady ticking of the clock and the quickness of the pen keeping time with a keyboard player who has provided incredible talent to much of Steve Hackett’s work, including the superb Spectral Mornings and Defector, all of this is in evidence throughout N’Monix.
It is perhaps fitting that the album recalls so much of the great work that Nick Magnus has done over the years and the near Who’s Who of British music. That recall, the encompassing and reaching arc that Progressive Rock enjoys is captured fully in Mr. Magnus’ fifth studio album and it seems with just a stroke of a pen, the odd line perhaps here and there scrawled through, the odd note played over and over again until it was absolutely perfect, the resilience of the genus shines through like commemoration of a genre that refused to ever die.
There is so much to enjoy on the album, the revelry in which things celebrations are made of, and such considerable talent on audible display that the memory will surely blow a fuse taking it all in. With Steve Hackett and saxophone player Rob Townsend aiding the album, N’Monix is a must for all Progressive fans.
With tracks such as the exceptional Kombat Kid, Entropy, Headcase and the delightful Eminent Victorians giving such astounding imagery, what Nick Magnus has managed to pull together is nothing short of wonderful. Not only does it sound great but it is crafty, more musically cunning than fox climbing into a long red dress and fooling a set of huntsmen and if it were its own entity, you would also label each note bathing in its own talent.
N’Monix will surely be one of the Progressive albums of the year, a piece of art hung on a wall on its own in the most prestigious gallery.
N’Monix is released on April 28th via Esoteric Antenna/Cherry Red Records.
Ian D. Hall