The Tangent – Auto Reconnaissance (Inside Out Records, 2020)
One thing you can say about The Tangent is that you never know what you‘re going to get in a new album. Its leader and composer, Andy Tillison, enjoys incorporating all sorts of musical elements and influences. On Auto Reconnaissance you get a mix of genres. Don’t expect a straight ahead cohesive progressive rock album.
The album opens with a disco-flavored song titled ‘Life On Hold.’ The highlight of this track is the excellent bass work and a brief guitar solo by Luke Machin.
Next is a story about a trip to New York/New Jersey including Steely Dan influences, spoken word storytelling by Tillison, R&B grooves, jazz-leaning guitar and piano plus smooth jazz saxophone. It is a long track (15:59) that eventually morphs into Canterbury-style progressive rock with spectacular electric guitar licks.
The album continues with a retro pop ballad titled ‘Under Your Spell’ with 1980s soul echoes and more smooth jazz saxophone.
‘The Tower Of Babel’ incorporates more of the Steely Dan sound. It’s a catchy song with effective electric piano and a synth solo.
The jewel of the album is the 28:24-long epic titled ‘Lie Back & Think of England.’ This is fantastic progressive rock that intertwines beautiful restful moments with cutting edge symphonic rock and fusion. Here, the creative bass lines and drum performances are outstanding and Theo Travis treats the listener to fabulous flute work. Tillison’s keyboard work is superb, adding classic symphonic rock ingredients and masterful Chick Corea inspirations. The track builds up nicely to epic proportions and this is when guitarist Luke Machin demonstrates that he is one of the finest electric guitarists out there. A truly masterful and eclectic musician who presents a wide range of sounds and guitar styles.
The regular album concludes with a piece called ‘Midas Touch’ that has a 1980s summer pop sound with wah wah guitar, disco arrangements and lounge jazz.
The final piece is the 12:30 bonus track ‘Proxima’ where Tillison switches from retro stuff to forward-thinking electronica. It is a deep space exploration featuring ambient sounds, mesmerizing bass and a wide range of trippy keyboards along with distant vocals. It progresses into fantastic sequencer-based space rock with cosmic synth solos and later into jazz-rock fusion. This is what more progressive rock bands should be doing, embracing electronica and fusion instead of the boring riffing stuff.
The lineup on Auto Reconnaissance includes Andy Tillison on vocals and keyboards; Jonas Reingold on bass; Theo Travis on saxophone and flute; Luke Machin on guitar; and Steve Roberts on drums.