Progressive-rock’s never really gone away. Instead, it has retreated underground where, to be fair, it’s always been more comfortable, even back in heady days when the likes of Yes could headline arenas on the back of 30-minute, highly complex compositions.
What prog-rock’s critics, and there were many, failed to understand is that this is not music made merely to show off. At its best, this is music sent out into the world to find and to accompany dreamers. This is music that can, for a few brief moments, stop the world and provide perspective.
I say this because Avian’s album “Vesper” is, at both times, tied to the history of progressive-rock music and a sign of where the music is going. While classic releases from this genre, typically, focused on myth, folklore, and history, this is music that suggests leaps forward, technological breakthroughs and, potentially, horrible decline influenced by all of these things.
It’s a sharply crafted, well-produced record as well. Still, the way that the music has been recorded is another indicator of rock music’s evolution. Avian is the project of Croatian writer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Stefano Šišović. All of the songs were recorded in Šišović’s home studio, and the music was developed while under the influence of sophisticated math-rock artists like Plini or Canadian band Intervals.
From the start, on the opening song, the dynamic “Serotoxin,” the music spends its time creating tension and relieving the listener of it. The focus is almost always on the electric guitars, which shift from cascades of multi-tracked, hyper-distorted parts to simple, melodic, pleasing lead lines.
The record is more than a virtuosity-driven recital. These are songs that encourage the listener’s imagination, and can’t quite be enjoyed without it. “Lumos,” a song where the djent-styled rhythm guitars occasionally fade out, leaving space for acoustic piano parts, might suggest interstellar travel.
And “Halcyon”, where the complex drum fills push and pull at the song, is the point in the galactic journey right before glorious success or terrible failure.
Where does this leave us? Confident about progressive-rock’s future. Stefano Šišović is a highly trained musician and an imaginative lead guitarist. The album’s closing track, “Vespertine”, where the lead lines are handled by resonant, emotional saxophone lines, hints at more secret worlds that music is yet to uncover.
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