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Not a Good Sign - s/t. 2013 AltRock
OK - back to regular postings on the UTR for awhile. And here's another one of the new exciting bands coming from Italy. I suppose it's really a collaboration effort, rather than a true band. Though it could certainly evolve into that as Hostsonaten did from Finisterre.
Not a Good Sign (NAGS), though from Italy, have really nothing to do with their own heritage in progressive rock. NAGS, a band that could also be called the AltRock Label All-Stars, clearly have their sights up north towards Scandinavia, where the instrumentals recall Anglagard, Sinkadus, and Wobbler. The English vocals, sung in a somewhat commercial style, recall the Swedish group Anekdoten - especially on their later efforts. This is a band who wear their "prog patch" proudly on their collective jackets. We're pretty much at ground zero here for the style, so if you don't like this, then you probably have to question whether or not you like progressive rock as a genre. I most certainly do, but this album does seem like a pandering effort towards the targeted audience. "Oh, wait until the PROG customers here this". It's all very well done, but misses the reckless abandon and youthful excitement that perhaps only the amateurs can pull off - not knowing any better I suppose (though Anglagard miraculously continues to avoid these traps). It's "professional prog" for a lack of a better term. Hard to diss. Hard to get excited about. 3.5 stars / Gnosis 10 is about right. It is very good... of course.
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