The Tangent - Proxy
Hello again, Andy! Glad you're well. It's been... not very long. 2017's The Slow Rust Of Forgotten Machinery occupied last year's number two spot, and this year's Proxy is very much in the same vein. Andy is still Angry and we've got another collection of righteously vitriolic outbursts on our hands. This time, the "proxy wars" in the Middle-East, the rise of alternative facts and the commercialization of rock music are targets. It's not for everybody, but I sure feel this.
The Tangent are the modern heirs of the Canterbury scene and the jazz and funk are turned up to eleven for this one. The record was made in a short time and you can sort of hear it; it's got a jammy, improvisational vibe. The Tangent has always been one of prog's great revolving door bands, but for some years now there's been a core group of Andy with Luke Machin and Jonas Reingold, which really helps with that tight "band" feel.
Still, The Tangent are at their best when the loose, swinging feel is peppered with some actual melody lines, and there's plenty of that on Proxy. The choruses to the title song and "The Adulthood Lie" give the album some much-needed grounding, as does the brilliant closer "Supper's Off". "The Adulthood Lie" is a particular highlight with a dance-beat section that works remarkably well in a prog context. Overall, Slow Rust was a better album, more tight and composed, but Proxy is a worthy followup. Keep 'em coming.
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