Formed in 2003 and disbanded in 2011, Pure Reason Revolution reformed in 2019, having spent their career steadfastly avoiding genre pigeonholes. With members citing their love of acts as diverse as Porcupine Tree (with whom they share some similarity), Kraftwerk, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and Nirvana, it’s hardly surprising that their music is more open-minded than most genre purists would allow, an approach that can be both a blessing and a curse when it comes to finding a place on festival bills and playlists, but which certainly benefits the music the band produce. Considering their relatively short time as an active band, Pure Reason Revolution have been somewhat prolific, releasing three albums prior to their breakup, and 2020’s Eupnea upon their return. Now back with a new album, the seven-track Above Cirrus, the band have once again dug deep to craft an album that is musically varied and emotionally charged.
Above Cirrus opens on an exceptionally strong note with the riff heavy Our Prism. Built around pounding drums and driven by a surging riff reminiscent of Porcupine Tree’s in Absentia period, it’s a brilliant opening that neatly showcases the layered vocals of Jon, Chloe and Greg. Vibrant and vital, as statements of intent go, Our Prism is incredible, and it certainly announces the album with a bang. Not that the band are content to rest on their laurels. Where the opening track blazes with a sense of purpose, it segues directly into the liquid slide guitar of the Floyd-esque New Kind of Evil. A lovely track that takes in elements of Anathema, Vola, and Von Hertzen Brothers, A New Kind of Evil is a prog epic that keeps you hooked for the duration. In contrast, Phantoms is based around a taut beat, digging into an unexpectedly danceable groove, the like of which Steven Wilson was employing on his divisive (yet excellent) solo album The Future Bites. Yet, despite that taut beat dragging your feet to the dancefloor, there’s a nasty sting in the tail as the band deploy a searing guitar riff, giving the track a schizophrenic quality that keeps you guessing as to what will come next.
Following on from Phantoms’ cinematic, spoken-word outro, the slow-paced Cruel Deliverance allows for a moment of calm, albeit with an undercurrent of menace implicit in the creeping bass line. The vocals here are ambitious and imaginative, as is the musical arrangement, which takes in a surprising range of influences over the course of just five minutes. It ends, as its predecessor did, with a spoken word passage drawing the listener into the spacey Scream Sideways, which truly does sound like a long-lost Pink Floyd jam, complete with rhythmic synth pulses and understated lead guitar. Of course, as with previous pieces, you shouldn’t accept too much at face value and, just as you find yourself slowly dissolving in time and space, the band perform an abrupt volte-face, demonstrating a mastery of electronic forms (combined with some blazingly heavy riffs), only to wrong-foot you again with a funky interlude. After so adventurous a piece, the intro to Dead Butterfly provides some much-needed calm, the band evoking the spirit of Clannad, with their folk-infused harmonies and a subtle piano melody running beneath. Having soothed the spirit, the band then slip back into the heavy, electronica-infused rock of the opening track, although those mellifluous melodies remain. It leaves Lucid to bring the album to a satisfying close as a sole voice floats in an eerie, post-rock miasma. It expands, of course, into something far more widescreen, with some satisfying riffs and moments of exceptional beauty, but it’s that lonely opening that sticks in the mind long after the track has spun to an end.
A varied, intelligent and consistently surprising album, Above Cirrus has plenty of hard rock action for those looking for visceral thrills; melodies galore for those who like their music to have a firm hook, and abstruse progressive elements, for those who like their music to challenge them. Most importantly, all these elements are drawn together in a manner such that it never feels like the band are trying to pander to anything other than their own muse. A very impressive offering indeed, Above Cirrus will be a strong contender when it comes to albums of the year, and it comes highly recommended. 9.5/10
