D.F.A. - 4th
I’m very particular about new progressive rock these days. While there’s a lot of good albums from the modern era, there aren’t a lot of great ones, at least not a lot of great ones on the level of the original 70s groups. One aspect in particular is I think there’s a real gap in musicianship between the first wave and later waves. Part of this is now that the genre (or ethic even) is a niche interest, there isn’t quite as much support for newer musicians. Nowadays most bands are made of amateur self-taught musicians when in the 70s there were many greats coming fresh out of music colleges. Comparing, say Italian progressive drummers of the 70s to those in bands of the 90s and 00s really doesn’t look so good for the latter, who often seem to be missing the jazz and classical skills that made the original drummers so professional.
So a band like D.F.A is a very rare breed because they’re one of the few modern bands whose skills are really up to the more professional groups in the style. All of the musicians have either had some training or started with a unfair share of talent and at least one or two of them operate in other bands, all aspects of keeping the chops up. The results showed an unusually strong debut album that was one of the highlights of the 90s and a reasonably good follow up that showed them moving to an even more professional level, even if some of the new elements (echoed sequencer moves akin to space rock) moved them in a less distinctive direction. A live album followed from NEARfest, but it’s been several years since we saw a studio work from the band. And given that gaps like this can often lead to a musical stagnation (I think there’s a window where a new song keeps it freshness, but the life can be practiced out of the material), I was surprised at how confident I was in grabbing this upon release. It’s a rare thing these days.
Fortunately the 4th DFA and 3rd studio album is the culmination of all of this band’s efforts, a work that doesn’t lose the freshness of the material while increasing the maturity and sophistication of the work. The result is a near picture perfect album. Not only have they shucked the Ozric-like synth workfrom their second release, but they’ve pulled more from their debut, particularly the long, twisty and complex compositional works that still manage to have well thought out melodic work and a tendency to go into some of the most insanely intense grooves you’re likely to hear. It kept me thinking, why do so few bands try to make this sort of thing work? No matter how far off the charts D.F.A. manage to go, there’s a focus to their compositional work that ties the digressions to consonant themes and exciting vamps that make the blood flow really fast. And they never overstay their welcome, building up to a crescendo and then taking it all down again for another work up.
That’s one of the biggest differences between this D.F.A. and the previous incarnation. The band have really managed to get the softer, delicate parts so right that they’re almost as compelling as the rave ups. They’ve done this in part by some rather obvious Canterbury copping in parts, but in a very genuine, respectful way. Part of this is the guitarist really seems to have some Phil Miller-isms creeping into his playing. Another part is the electric piano-led, light sequences are very evocative of Hatfield & the North or National Health, both by feel and notes. It hasn’t so much changed their style, but altered it enough to make it difficult to classify D.F.A. among many of their symphonic/romantic contemporaries. Another aspect of this “downtime” is the addition of a female vocalist (Andhira) to the final track, giving all the previous compositions an unsual, but somehow successful wrap up, almost wistful or melancholic, with a melodic structure that reminds me of Mike Oldfield in the early 80s.
It’s really a credit to D.F.A. that it’s very difficult to compare them to anyone else. The closest analog to my mind would be Kenso in that this is the sort of progressive rock that tends to be classified (inaccurately to my mind) as jazz rock, which I think is often just an aspect of the professionality and fluidity of the musicianship compared to those without the abovementioned training (or conversely practice). It’s the idea that when the chemistry is so good, all of the intangibles and ineffables show up in bunches, elements that transcend the notes and rhythms and let the vibe through, qualities less expressed by emotion and physicality and more through intuition.
Overall it’s difficult to want to give anything this new top marks, as one will not be aware of an album’s potential for growth. But in the last 10 years I can count on one hand the times I’ve wanted to do so to a new album and I don’t think any of those impressed me as much out of the gate as this new album. Anyone even remotely interested in the genre needs this one last week. It’s a minimum Gnosis 14 and mostly likely will be a record talked about in hushed voices and cries of “overrated” in ten years, just like everything brilliant.
