Style: Progressive Rock (clean vocals)
Review by: Callum
Country: United Kingdom
Release date: June 11, 2021
Following the March release of their single, Mistress, Azure garnered a lot of attention in the prog scene. More than just the “musical icebreaker” they intended, the short, shimmering, and triumphant track whet appetites and stoked immeasurable hype for the June release of their sophomore album, Of Brine and Angel’s Beaks. You can read more about the band’s reaction to this in the interview the band did with our very own Stephen here.
The hype has been met head on with an hour-long prog rock epic that will no doubt be shortlisted for Album of the Year contention. Expanding upon their self-constructed mythos established in 2017’s Wish For Spring, this release checks a lot of prog boxes for the fantasy elements alone. Combine that with incredible guitar work, vocals somewhere between Bruce Dickinson and Claudio Sanchez, and tons of synth, and baby, you got a stew going. Azure have a very distinct brand of upbeat, bright shimmer to their music, layered with drama and theatrics despite dealing with quite a dark narrative in places concerning murder, curses, poison etc. I’d liken it to Native Construct or Others by No One in this sense as well as the virtuosic instrumentals and unconventional song structures. The first main track, “Self-Crucifixion”, is an obvious example of this. The track title and lyrics suggest a much darker theme than the bubbly, ever-so-slightly-distorted, CHON-like guitar and keyboard melodies put forward. Speaking of virtuosity, Galen’s Steve Vai-turned Yngwie Malmsteen solo in this track is phenomenal, and clearly not his only style. The quick, dizzying burst three minutes into “Ameotoko I – The Curse” and the sweep-picked end to the solo in “Cup of Poison”, for example, are both stunning.
The synth and keyboards also play a large part in Azure’s unique sound. Whether harmonising with the aforementioned “Self-Crucifixion” solo, making me check my phone alarm isn’t going off with the marimba intro to “The Jester Who Cheated Death”, or Haken-y, 8-bit RPG breaks in “A Sailor Will Learn” and “Outrun God”, the synths add lots of interesting textures to each track. Chris’ vocals are also indisputably central to the impact of the album’s drama and emotion. The vocals may be too much for some, and perhaps we see Chris pushing theirself just about to their limit in “Mercy”, but otherwise the talent is undeniable and the tone suits the music perfectly.
The album may be an hour long but the pacing is executed well enough that there are no extended lulls. Although, if I could sub “Cup of Poison” out for the Mistress single, I would. The former seems almost too straightforward amongst all the other extraordinary tracks and the latter is simply too good not to include. Aside from this, each track is highly distinguishable and there are plenty of stand out moments across the album that make repeated listening addictive. The refrain in “Lustre: Siphon of Umbra”, for example, is a real earworm. Tones and timbres of the tracks vary greatly too. “The Jester Who Cheated Death” is as catchy as it is proggy, and “The Jellyfish” sounds almost as indie-pop as The 1975 if they had slick guitar fills and solos. Yet, the record becomes darker and heavier in places, notably in the detuned Dream Theater mid-section of “Mercy” and palm-muted chugs throughout “Outrun God” (as well as a couple of cheeky ‘amen breaks’ of all things). Top marks for mixing and mastering also go to Gareth Mason and Jonas Johansson of Slice the Cake/The Bakery. The production is full and impactful without anyone getting drowned out despite the multiple layers of instrumentation and variety in dynamics.
Although I couldn’t count on two hands the number of subtle influences I hear in this record, Azure have an extremely distinguished sound that has been refined tenfold since their first release. This is a worthy breath of fresh life and modernity to a genre that rooted itself over five decades ago.
Recommended tracks: Ameotoko I – The Curse, Lustre: Siphon of Umbra, Outrun God
Recommended for fans of: Others by No One, Ayreon, Yes
Final verdict: 9/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram
Label: Independent
Azure is:
– Bella Lee (bass)
– Christopher Sampson (vocals, synth & guitar)
– Galen Stapley (guitar)
– Sam Calder (drums)
