pluggedin2progressiverock

Thanks to my good fortune I’ve met a fellow prog rock fan deep in the heart of Texas.  Someplace, quite frankly, I never thought I would find one.  And through him I’ve discovered a beautiful and haunting track I can’t help but replay over and over again,.

The band, Anathema and the track “The Lost Song Part 2” from their 2015 release “Distant Satellites.”  This unique band consists of the three Cavanagh brothers in addition to the brother and sister duo of John and Lee Douglas. Here’s the complete line-up of this Liverpool band and their respective instruments:

Vincent Cavanagh – rhythm and acoustic guitars, keyboards, programming, lead vocals
Daniel Cavanagh – lead guitar, keyboards, piano  lead and backing vocals
Jamie Cavanagh – bass
John Douglas – drums, percussion, keyboards
Lee Douglas – backing vocals , lead vocals
Daniel Cardoso – keyboards, drums

The track, “The Lost Song Part 2” begins simply enough with understated piano.  Soon the beautiful female voice of Lee Douglas begins to fill your airwaves.  The groove is mellow and extremely pleasing to this listener’s ear.  Then the lyrics begin and the pace of this song changes dramatically.

                             

 

In a lifetime
There’a a moment
To awaken

To the sound of
Your heartbeat
Unbroken

And you’re free now
And I will remain
Still dreaming

Alive and aware
The love that I once believed in

 

The entire track is devoid of any overpowering guitar solos. Instead it relies on piano, keyboards and guitar to power it through.  And oh, the lush lead voice of Lee Douglas is a delight to be taken in.  “The Lost Song Part 2” is a true progressive rock ballad if such a thing does truly exist.  As the track effortlessly moves to its’ end, the soundscape of this band is both harmonious and discordant at the same time.  And the overall effect on this listener is overwhelming.

There’s an excellent video on YouTube that I’ve included here.  It features clips from the 2011 science fiction movie drama, “Perfect Sense” starring Ewan McGregor and Eva Green.  I have to admit I’ve never heard of the movie before but I’m certainly glad I’ve stumbled on this edited clip to this moving song.  The movie and this video focus on the relationship between their 2 characters as an epidemic spreads across the world whereby humans lose their sensory perceptions one at a time. Surprisingly this song does not appear on the soundtrack for “Perfect Sense” nor is it the official song for the movie. Still, having 2 gifted actors appear in an edited clip for this song only heightens the experience.

 

If you prefer a live performance of the song, I included that here.

 

 

Anathema is a band I will explore more closely and I hope you will too.  Don’t let the negative connotation associated with their name or even the awkward pronunciation discourage you.  Their music and this endearing track couldn’t be any further from that.