Marc Atkinson’s music always gives me a sense of hope, and that’s a valuable thing. I’ve been following him since I discovered Riversea’s debut Out of an Ancient World and Nine Stones Close’s One Eye on the Sunrise, both released in 2012. Yet he’s been making music for decades and I have yet to hear a bad album from him. He’s back again with Voices, which released on February 28th, and he’s bringing hope with him once again.
Marc hails from the UK. He’s released so many solo albums (I dare not guess how many), but Voices might be one of my favorites, along with 2006’s This Is Where We Are, 2016’s Home Grown, and 2023’s Heart & Soul. He always brings some great musicians with him. This time it’s Marc on vocals, keys, guitars, bass, and ebow; Maurizio Fornacca on drums; Martin Ledger on guitars; David Clements and Bob Fleming on bass; and Tamsin Wonderland and Enya Atkinson on backing vocals.
Marc has established himself as a progressive rock musician through outings with Riversea, Nine Stones Close, Moon Halo, and even his old band Gabriel (check out 2000’s Ascension—it’s really good), but his solo music is a little more reserved. He plays mostly acoustic, graceful rock. You’ll hear drums at times, electric guitars in others, other instruments when they need to be there. But his solo work is mostly about authenticity, about his voice, his guitar, and his heartfelt lyrics.
Voices has fifteen songs and they are all good to great. Not a bad track here. I think I like the second half a little more than the first. Marc sings about love, loss, and the state of the world, and I think that’s why his even-keeled, balanced take on things brings me hope: he doesn’t saddle us with more burdens, he makes me feel less alone.
My favorites in the first half are the elegant opener “Where Do I Begin”, full of Marc’s signature gravy vocals and hovering ambience; “Every One of Us” with its layered harmonies; and “Say It Isn’t So”, a timely anti-war song with an excellent guitar solo.
In the second half, my favorites are “The Maze” with its gorgeous, building chorus; “Help Me Believe” with its hovering background harmony and marching tempo wreathed in keys; and “The Future Starts Tonight”, with its glorious hope. The album closes with the 8-minute “The Here and The Now”, a gorgeous and pensive piece that I feel ends the record perfectly.
Marc’s solo work isn’t about odd time signatures or flashy instrumentals, but instead gives us hope, grace, nostalgia, and a sense of home. I always feel warm after I hear his solo albums, like a shot of healing to my heart. I think this is exactly the kind of album we need right now.
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The PROG Mind 