InVertigo: InMotion

It’s no surprise that Progressive Promotions Records are rather fond of InVertigo, after all the German based band recorded the first album released through the label way back in 2010, before following that up with their second release, Veritas in 2012. A further seven years have passed between then and third album InMotion appearing at the tail end of 2019, the rather reclusive five piece reappearing with a six track effort that traverses the years of prog through a variety of linked if hardly constrained tracks.

The overall musical theme across this third offering remains neo-progressive, with Arena often a strong touching point throughout tracks such as “Wasting Time� and “Listen To The Smell Of The Pretty Picture�. With singer (and piano player) Sebastian Brennert having a similar phrasing to RPWL man Yogi Lang, there’s no doubt that there’s also a Germanic flavour involved but then with the likes of Riverside, Yes and even Jethro Tull (well, there’s a bit of flute theatrics here and there) also leant upon, the feel is wide and cosmopolitan.

With their previous work conceptual in theme, InMotion breaks with that approach but that’s not to say that InVertigo have moved away from serious, dare I say downbeat lyrics, with current issues and politics often brought into play. In fact “Severn Speaking� contains spoken word segments from youth activist Severn Suzuki highlighting climate change and social inequality in a way that, while undoubtedly well intentioned, is ladled on just too blatantly to remain engaging beyond a couple of listens. The aforementioned “Wasting Time� picks up the same theme in a much less brow meeting manner, exploring the blissful ignorance with which most folk view the plight of our planet as the song asks our world leaders why they don’t take meaningful action.

The lengthy, two part “Life� closes things out and while again insightful and informative as it turns a light on our reliance on tech, digital media and the information-now age, some of the lyrics don’t flow quite as well as they might, with lines like “The meaning of life has been Googled a million of times� just a little clunkier than they should be.

However, these are minor quibbles when compared against the excellent musicianship on show and tight songwriting that, in general, holds the imagination well. There’s nothing here that’s jostling at the edges of originality, but as European prog goes it’s easy to see why this latest outing from InVertigo has been eagerly awaited by not just their label but also their loyal fan base.

Track Listing
1. Interrompu
2. Listen To The Smell Of The Pretty Picture
3. Severn Speaking
4. Wasting Time
5. Life Part I: (Random)
6. Life Part II: (Metaphors)

Added: January 30th 2020
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: InVertigo @ bandcamp
Hits: 720
Language: english

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