We had already been carried away by their first album 'Troika' in 2022 and the trio 'Nick D'Virgilio'/Neal Morse'/'Ross Jennings' is doing it again at the end of 2023 with their new album 'Sophomore'. So we don't change a winning team and we find this style that I described in my previous column on the trio as being a sort of mix between 'Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young' and the 'Bee Gees'.
The ensemble therefore presents direct compositions in melodic pop, the semi-acoustic atmospheres bringing a harmonious and delicate side. This comes to fruition from the outset with 'Hard to be Easy' which could very well have been composed in the early 70s, the vocal harmonies being very close to those of 'Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young'. In the same style, the compositions 'Tiny Little Fires' (see the video above), 'Right Where You Should Be', 'I'm Not Afraid' and 'Anywhere the Wind Blows' (see the video here) take us back fifty years back in this light atmosphere. While keeping very beautiful vocal harmonies and in more relaxed atmospheres, we can also cite 'Linger at the Edge of My Memory' on a slow tempo unfolding a very beautiful melody, 'The Weary One' which is melancholier (see the video here), the string accompaniment accentuating this atmosphere, and 'Weighs Me Down' also adds a very beautiful, darker ballad in the style of 'Goodbye Blue Sky' from 'The Wall'. Other atmospheres, 'Mama' is more rock flirting this time with the electric project of 'Crazy Horse' by 'Neil Young' and 'Walking on Water' gives us a small dose of cheerfulness by embarking us in a very catchy composition which gives a irresistible desire to accompany the chorus with the trio.
In summary, no need for a long review to tell you that this second album from the trio 'Nick D'Virgilio'/Neal Morse'/'Ross Jennings' is still full of beautiful melodies that we take a great pleasure to listen to and 'Sophomore' is still recommended to a wide audience because our three artists, who generally evolve in less accessible progressive styles, have done everything possible to offer us compositions that are catchy on first listen... | |
