A week before the release of the last 'Arena', the man with multiple projects (see myprogmusic search for this artist), 'John Mitchell', releases his latest album from his 'Lonely Robot' project and, after the last two very close opuses, ' Under Stars' in 2019 and 'Feelings Are Good' in 2020, he gave himself two years to release this new baby 'A Model Life' which is once again close to listening time.
As a fan of progressive rock, when a new 'John Mitchell' offering comes along, I look forward to it and usually set the bar relatively high, given the talent of the guy and the hours already spent putting his entire impressive discography between his ears. So, when I started listening to the first title 'Recalibrating', even if this title would certainly have seemed very pleasant to me in another progressive project, I found it quite common, and I must say that I was quite disappointed with this start which seemed to me below what the Englishman used to offer us. And then, the titles being linked, this impression gradually faded for another which took over and each composition gave me a little more listening pleasure than the previous one like a rise in power towards a kind musical grail reached in the middle of the album not to fall back until the end, the emotional slider only growing and showing a 'John Mitchell' who certainly signs his most moving album, both musically and lyrically. (for many, the covid period has been a revelation to externalize deep feelings). In short, all the ingredients are still there for a real listening pleasure and, like any good progressive album, it takes on more and more flavor as you listen to it with a great diversity of moods and rhythms (musically, I found in a lot of compositions like 'Starlight Stardust' or the title song the same emotions encountered listening to the German neo-progressive band 'RPWL'). To avoid a tedious title by title (there would be so much to say), I will quote the last three compositions which take us on an intense musical journey with, first of all, the melancholic 'Rain Kings' with its delicious accompaniment and the melodious vocals of 'John Mitchell' which deals with that silly image that boys shouldn't cry (and which could well move some to tears!!), then, 'Duty of Care' rolls out beautiful melodic lines on a very personal theme of his adoption and his unhealthy relationship with his father , and, finally, 'In Memoriam' closes the album, with the continuation of the previous theme continuing to highlight very deep feelings in a new composition bathed in an atmospheric 'Floydian' atmosphere.
In summary, as you will have understood, 'John Mitchell' takes us on an intense musical journey in which he makes us go through all kinds of feelings by revealing himself certainly more than in these previous albums and, for my apart, 'A Model Life' is added to my ideal progressive discotheque, which should also be the case for a lot of English fans and more generally fans of progressive pop/rock... | |
