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Pattern-Seeking Animals: Prehensile Tales
Pattern-Seeking Animals - Prehensile Tales Art

Pattern-Seeking Animals: Prehensile Tales

Melodic Progressive Rock
5.0/5.0

After a two-week hiatus during the 2020 COVID19 pandemic, when music releases were slim to none, I'm ready to get back in the saddle to write a few reviews.

Starting again can't get much better than a listen to the new Pattern-Seeking Animals (PSA) album, Prehensile Tales. It arrives 10 months after their self-titled debut, a monster album of terrific melodic progressive rock. Apparently, band founder, principal songwriter, and keyboardist John Boegehold had plenty more musical ideas up his sleeve. Before jumping into the music, take a moment to consider the meaning of the album title. Look up "prehensile" and then combine it with tales. You'll have a laugh. While you're doing that, you might as well pre-order the album. You're going to love it. It's okay, I'll be here waiting for you.

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Pattern-Seeking Animals

So, you're back. With Prehensile Tales, you'll find PSA up to their favorite mind bending and ear tingling tricks, offering catchy melodic rock wrapped up in ambitious and intriguing arrangements. Moreover, Boegehold and company have upped their game with the addition of some new musical elements including flute, violin and cello, trumpet and saxophone, and pedal steel guitar.

You'll hear some flute in the jazzy midsection of Raining Hard In Heaven as it lilts along with a piano line, over a strong bass groove, before a fine guitar solo erupts. When tunes get a symphonic texture, which is frequent but notable within Soon But Not Today or Here In My Autumn, you'll hear the cello and violin give the arrangement an authentic orchestral lushness to the song. I like trumpet and sax in most any genre, but they're always a bonus within prog rock. So when they rise within the western-themed Why Don't We Run, the mighty 17 minute Lifeboat, or Soon But Not Today, keep a keen ear out and expect to be both pleased and entertained. Alternatively, with Elegant Vampires you get some symphonic prog nuances for sure, but it sounds more like a straight up melodic rock tune. Not so much as a afterthought, but throughout the album I found Dave Meros' bass lines to be significant and commanding. All said, with Prehensile Tales, Pattern-Seeking Animals not only repeats their progressive rock success, but also made it more ambitious and creative, thereby raising their own musical bar. Quite recommended.



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The Bottom Line

All said, with Prehensile Tales, Pattern-Seeking Animals not only repeats their progressive rock success, but also made it more ambitious and creative, thereby raising their own musical bar. Quite recommended.

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