This is my first review in about a month, so I thought I’d make it a short one. Pendragon releasing new music always prompts me to share my feelings, as they are a top 3 band for me. The new EP North Star was released during their recent tour, and on June 1st they made it available digitally. Par for the course with Pendragon, there are no songs or even samples available online. Buy it or don’t.
Pendragon have been going through something of a resurgence in their older sound. Their 2020 album Love Over Fear is one of the best they’ve ever released, and it only gets better with age. The band, too, has been growing, officially or maybe not, I’m not sure. The lineup on this EP is: Nick Barrett on guitars, vocals, additional keyboards, and programming; Clive Nolan on keyboards; Peter Gee on bass; Jan-Vincent Velazco on drums; Johanna Stroud on backing vocals and violin; and guest John Barnfield on keys for one track.
North Star has four tracks and lasts about 25 minutes. It is slower and more cautious, though Love Over Fear had plenty of that, too. Still, the whole thing plays like an ethereal dream of nostalgia and quiet nights. It has lots of guitar, obviously, but most of it is acoustic this time, and impressive. Nick took inspiration from folk and country guitarists specifically, so there is a rustic and homey vibe that pervades everything. In a sense, this is Pendragon’s Big Big Train sound, and I hear that in the lyrics, too.
The first three tracks make up the titular suite because, even on an EP, Pendragon needs a suite. It’s a gorgeous one, though; careful and attentive to our spirits, the song is full of looking back to better days and that sort of thing. It’s a beautiful and poetic experience, though I suspect Pendragon fans will love the third part, “Phoenician Skies”, the best because it brings Nick’s signature soloing and Clive’s keyboard soloing in for the finale.
My favorite song, though, is the closer, “Fall Away”. Nick is actually very good at closing ballads, such as “Afraid of Everything” on Love Over Fear, “The Edge of the World” on Believe, or “Am I Really Losing You?” on The Window of Life. You can probably tell that it’s one of my favorite things about their music, and you’d be right. “Fall Away” stands tall with those amazing tracks. I love how gushing the lyrics and melodies are, and I find myself singing it all the time. Clive lays down a seriously stress-relieving synth solo on it, too; and so the closing moments of this EP are perhaps the best.
I hope a full-length release is upon us soon, but this Pendragon EP does scratch the itch, if you know what I mean. It feels weird to hear them in such a short form release, but I’ll take what I can get. If you are a fan, you need to buy this right now.
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The PROG Mind 