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After over 8 years away from his desk, TV and film composer, session vocalist and songwriter, producer, mixer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist Andy Wilson-Taylor has returned with a new Midgar album and suddenly it’s as if all is well with the world again. Although Midgar is billed as a cinematic rock “band”, except for Greg McPherson of InMe on bass, and one cello line on ‘Go, Carefully’, everything that you hear on ‘Unity’ is in fact played by Andy, so in essence, it’s a solo project in all but name.
‘Unity’ is not an album to be rushed; it’s an album to be savoured, and time taken over. There is so much going on that it takes multiple listens to appreciate every little nuance, and even after several visits, the listener will still discover things not heard the first few times around, so it’s recommended to digest ‘Unity’ through a decent pair of cans, the experience is much greater with all outside distractions blocked out. Once you are on, say, the fifth spin, then feel free to unplug the cans and fill the room, but those first few times – cans on.
As you might expect from someone with such a strong background in TV and film composition, there is great diversity to be found within the 13 tracks that make up ‘Unity’. Light and shade are in abundance, and the case of the towering ‘Nemesis’, often within the same track. ‘Unity’ opens with a beautiful, short orchestral prelude, in much the same way that movies used to in the golden age of cinema where you would often find a few minutes of music before the curtains lifted, and this exquisite piece of music really sets the scene for what is to follow; the magical opening track ‘Ascension’. It’s a slow-burning, gradual way to announce your return to rock music, and it works on so many different fronts; the piano-work is at times astounding and it’s a genuine thrill when the gentle strains lead into an explosion of sound, including screaming vocals from Wilson-Taylor.
Without overstaying its welcome, ‘Ascension’ quickly scarpers and the softest of piano sounds heralds in ‘We Don’t Make The Rules’ which features some mysterious female whispering in the listener’s ears before all hell breaks loose and every instrument crashes in with a short blast of heavy, progressive music. At times it’s staggering to comprehend that one guy is responsible for such a massive sound (especially the drums, which are key to the track), the guitars are beefy, the arrangements are impressive, and Wilson-Taylor’s warm and fragile vocals are front and centre thanks to his crystal clear production. Progressive metal fans will find much to devour on ‘We Don’t Make The Rules’, as they will on many other occasions on the album (‘Disciple’ and ‘Paradise’ stand out in particular). There are lighter moments such as the delightful ‘Sunburn’, ‘Isle Of Glass’, ‘We Found The Darkness In The Sun’, and the gorgeous title track to counteract the darkness. ‘Unity’ doesn’t suffer from the dreaded mid-section dip in quality and the twelve minutes or so that features ‘Ira Vehementi’, the aforementioned ‘Nemesis’, and ‘Erebus’ are staggering, not only in its diversity but also its execution – the uplifting string and piano arrangements on ‘Erebus’, are especially noteworthy, as is the sudden left turn down a more progressive path near the end of the track, the drum sound, again, crucial to the track. Ending on the stop-you-in-your-tracks emotional strains of ‘Go, Carefully’, this is an album full of surprises, and an album that hangs around for some time afterward. The very definition of a “complete album”.
‘Unity’ is available June 25th through Year of The Rat Records, pre-save, here, pre-order a limited edition cassette version, here.
