New Album Reflection By The Casimir Connection And Diane McLoughlin

I'm quite surprised this surfaced on Prog Radio's new albums list.

https://www.progradio.com/newalbums

To call this progressive rock is to stretch the boundaries of that genre well beyond breaking point in my opinion. So why am I reviewing it? I'm finding that tough to answer, I'll be honest. Let's crack on with the review and see if I can work it out.

https://thecasimirconnection.com/

According to their website, the Casimir Connection is a contemporary classical ensemble which "explores the boundaries between classical, folk and jazz". The sound centres around the piano, bringing in violin, double bass and saxophone. It's composed rather than improvised. The musicianship, as you'd expect, is excellent and the pieces range widely in dynamics and form. I think the folk influences come across most strongly in the violin playing but there is no obvious quoting.

One of the problems with limited instrumentation in any genre is avoiding making every piece sound the same, at least on a first listen. That's not a problem here. Each track has a very distinctive character - Lost Time in particular stands out on a first listen. There is absolutely no generic jazz widdliness (you know what I mean) - these are first and foremost carefully thought out and composed pieces of music.

And that, I think, is the main point. Reflection is an album of composed music rather than a collection of songs, and the difference is enormous. The progressive rock music I really love is similarly composed. That's why I think Tony Banks is the greatest genius of the progressive rock era. But very little progressive rock is actually composed in this manner - most of it (even Genesis) arose through adaptation of improvised pieces.

This leads me back to why I am reviewing it. I am reviewing it because it contains what I love most in progressive rock music - that thread of deliberate composition by which you know there is a real intelligence there. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.

Reasons to listen:

  • You like to really listen to your music rather than just have it on in the background
Reasons not to listen:
  • You're not comfortable going outside the boundaries

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