Stranger Heads Prevail by Thank You Scientist
I heard about this from the same video that clued me on to Wobbler, and it's another really interesting recommendation. At first, I felt that Thank You Scientist were another of the distant inheritors of Dream Theater, alongside Haken, Caligula's Horse and many more. And while it wouldn't be an entirely inaccurate description, there's something very special about the band that makes it (in my opinion) stand apart, at least on this album. Not only is the line-up unusual for a prog band, since in addition to the classic rhythm + guitar + keys you get two horns (trumpet and tenor sax) and a violin. More importantly (to me) the band clearly has big ears and not only listens to but understands a broad variety of musical genres. Lately, I have been interested in exploring that frontier, or maybe the correct would be overlap between prog and jazz, which is most often visible in jazz fusion. And while there are some exceptions (Brand X, Bill Bruford), most of that frontier comes from jazz musicians moving towards rock rather than the opposite direction. Stranger Heads Prevail is an album that, to my ears, skirts with that frontier from the rock side. It's clear that the trumpet player, at least, has seriously jazz chops, and the most-fusiony track here (the delightfully named Rube Golberg Variations) has some very jazz vibes at times. Still, I don't think most prog rock or prog metal finds will be put off by this jazzy vibe, it's just (to me) what makes the band's sound stand out. There are some seriously heavy tunes here, including the incredible Caverns, and the album is solid through and through. Great find, one that makes me want to check out their other releases.
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