Issue 2024-082
Round Table Review
Pure Reason Revolution — Coming Up To Consciousness
Pure Reason Revolution's third album of its post-hiatus renaissance, and sixth overall, Coming Up To Consciousness is the follow-up to 2022's Above Cirrus. The album is the first without founder member, bassist and vocalist Chloë Alper, whose other musical activities has kept her away from continuing her role with the band. Her replacements for the recording of this album come with no higher pedigree, with Pink Floyd / David Gilmour / Nick Mason bassist Guy Pratt stepping in on bass for most of the album, with Jon Sykes from The Pineapple Thief contributing to one track. Female vocals are provided by the excellent Annicke Shireen, who was a recent touring member of the band, while drums are once again played by My Vitriol's Ravi Kesavaram.
Two other pineapple stealing activists also had a hand in the album with Bruce Soord mixing the album and Steve Kitch undertaking the mastering duties. Everything else was performed by Jon Courtney (vocals, guitar, keyboards) and Greg Jong (guitar, vocals).
Six of the tracks on the album are brief instrumental linking pieces, or "interludes", leaving eight new songs for consideration. The title of the album comes from the therapist that Courtney started seeing after he was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder who set him the task of writing down his dreams as he was "coming up to consciousness". Death, grief and guilt forms a large part of the subject on the album largely brought about by things that had occurred in Courtney's private life and had resulted in a block in creating new music.
Pure Reason Revolution (promo photo)
The latest songs developed after perusing an introductory book to jazz music that introduced a different approach to writing as well as several new chord structures. If that all sounds like it could have a dramatic effect on the music on the new album, then don't worry, it is largely business as usual.
In fact the album is more like a return to their debut album, particularly on tracks such as Dig Till You Die and in particular Betrayal. This is inevitable down to Jong being more involved in the writing which has benefited the album as a whole.
It is hard to single out any particular track as being the standout number as, in essence, the album needs to be heard in its entirety from start to end. To me that is the best way to get the most out of this remarkably consistent and strong album.
The vocals and harmonies throughout are of the top order, Shireen possesses an exceptionally bewitching voice, while fans of heavy riffing will get their kicks from Worship and Useless Animal. Lifeless Creature is full of delightful intrigue and takes the tempo and volume down before the album resolves with the faintly orchestral overtones of As We Disappear. The ending does seem to hint that things are not quite over and that there is more to come, which would be most welcome as I think Coming Up To Consciousness is the most satisfying album of their career to date.
Back in 2020, Eupnea revealed itself to be one of the best comeback albums in recent memory, a near perfect encapsulation of what (in my very humble opinion, that is) modern progressive rock should be. The follow-up, Above Cirrus was largely built on its predecessor's many successes, albeit yielding slightly less compelling results.
It could be said that Coming up to Consciousness, the third instalment in this "animal trilogy" of sorts (white lion, polar bear and a 17-year-old dog, in case you missed it), is stylistically more (less?) of the same, but favoring an emotional edge over musical audacity. An overall dreamy mood and the notion of loss pervade the whole journey, which somehow takes a while to get going but when it eventually does manage to reach some pretty intense moments. In this sense, this is a backloaded album, as it slowly simmers until climaxing in its last third.
I'm not sure the brief interludes add anything meaningful (maybe except the ominous Interlude 5), and having them be independent tracks, at least on the digital versions of the album, seems pointless to me. Debatable artistic choices aside, when things work they do so wonderfully. Useless Animal is haunting as it is catchy, with The Gallows being almost as tuneful while also showing a more mournful side thanks to Greg Jong's beautiful harmonica.
Pure Reason Revolution (promo photo)
In any case, it is in the Bend the Earth / Lifeless Creature / As We Disappear where the heart of the album lies, and these 17 minutes of music manage to recapture most of the magic this band is capable of conjuring, with a nearly seamless marriage of Floydian languor, mechanical electronics and occasional outbursts of intense abandon.
By the time we reach the emotional conclusion with As We Disappear, the band's sound has finally blossomed. Chlöe Alper's notable absence is more than ably alleviated by Annicke Shireen's soothing vocals, which fit like a glove with those by band leader John Courtney. It also doesn't hurt to have bass legend Guy Pratt and The Pineapple Thief's very own Bruce Soord involved in the proceedings, and they certainly add a touch of their own character to the album's sonic palette.
Even though this still is a wonderful instance of modern prog, perhaps PRR should shake things up a bit for the next project, making sure they keep their personality intact while giving it a fresh coat of paint. After all, Eupnea was always going to be a tough act to follow.
The band have gone though some notable change since the 2022 release of their previous studio album, Above Cirrus. With founding member Chloe Alper unavailable due to other musical commitments, Jon Courtney and guitarist Greg Jong took quick action to ensure no break in momentum. Great bands have an ability to weather line-up alterations and Coming Up For Consciousness is a truly resilient album in more ways than one.
Courtney is the band's captain, and his songwriting is exemplary here. The eight core tracks, all mix wonderful vocal harmonies with impressive instrumentation. Lyrically heavy, but this is not a morose sounding series of songs. As the title of the album suggests, there is light to be found from life's challenges.
Pure Reason Revolution (promo photo)
An integral part of the band's sound has always been Courtney's and Alper's vocal duetting. The masterful recruitment of singer Annicke Shireen, who joined with Alper's blessing, ensures that this essential element remains intact. Session musician Guy Pratt is another strong addition, as he brings his incomparable bass work to the majority of the album. Bruce Soord provides some guitar and most influentially, his mixing skills. This includes 5.1 and Dolby Atmos mixes of this excellently produced album.
Clocking in at a concise forty minutes, there is an effective flow and consistently strong quality to this release. Highlight tracks such as Dig Till You Die, Betrayal, Worship, Bend The Earth and the album closer, As We Disappear rank amongst the band's finest. Considering the big shoes that they had to fill, Coming Up To Consciousness is a strikingly confident and exceptionally entertaining album.
