Manic Xpression are a duo from Southern New Jersey, namely Chuck Miller who plays electric & acoustic guitars, bass, mandolin, ukulele, and electronics, alongside Mike Pagano on drums, acoustic guitar and recorders.

Through the Hourglass is their second album, the first Better Late having been released three years ago. Their Bandcamp page is at https://manicxpression.bandcamp.com/

There are eight tracks on this album, so let’s discuss and take a listen to some of it. 

We start with Escapade. Now, those of you, like me, who appreciate the jazzy side of progressive rock will love this, a glorious fusion track with extraordinarily good drum and percussion work which underpins at times madcap notes, but with such a sense of melody, in keeping with the finest of this type of music. When Chuck contacted me, he pointed to this track first, and he was right to do so, with everything on it knitting together into a seamless instrumental joy. Fine guitar work, dirty keys, pretty acoustic guitar work which especially provides for a sense of wonder at what is being seen, a track with a clear sense of purpose and direction putting across an adventure so well, the closing passage full of baroque bombast. It is embedded below.

This delight is followed by the title track, a piece not far short of epic length. The opening orchestration is deeply pastoral, and quite lovely. It strikes me as being the embodiment musically of the album cover, a journey through time and places capturing the adventurous spirit which is deeply embedded within humanity. The opening third is one of the nicest chamber and pastoral progressive rock passages I have heard in recent years, and the duo then break out of this with a heavier sense, perhaps riding a storm, featuring some more dirty organ and somewhat chaotic guitar work, reestablishing the jazz core of the music. I might add for a self-produced work, it all sounds very good, crisp and clean, the final third providing for a more 1980’s inclined sound, the drum rolls and some crashing percussion especially prominent and thundering underneath an entrancing synth loop, so quite a lot going on here. Very enjoyable.

Ricochet follows, a far shorter piece less than four minutes long, which is introduced by a magnificent church organ then giving way to a heavier Rush-type vibe of crunching riffs and complex drum work, all overlaid by a psych-driven shockingly dirty keyboard with a sense of chaos with the recipient of the shot being missed altogether, instead an innocent abroad catching the bullet as a result of the title event. A huge amount is embedded within this piece of music.

Labyrinth relates to complex, confusing structures originally designed to hold the Minotaur in Greek mythology. This is an epic length track over twelve minutes long and is a proggy fans delight. I love the mandolin and ukelele in this, some wonderfully intricate stuff, with medieval chamber music as well, all of which puts me in mind of the more extreme prog folk of The Decemberists, which I adore. The complexity of the structures comes across loud and clear on this, and some of it puts you in mind of ladies of the court navigating the maze at the behest of their lords, thoroughly lost and dependent upon being found by the laughing men. The guitar riffs are a joy, and the whole piece is about as unique as you will hear in 2024. I have embedded it below – sit down, turn the volume up as far as your partner or neighbours will allow, and wallow in a simply chaotic experience, with more changes and moods than you can shake a stick at, and one especially for fans of the bass guitar leading the charge musically, Miller & Pagano showing some seriously impressive rhythm section chops. Another contender for my epic of the year award, but I might well introduce a brand-new category, that of quirky prog delight of the year, because I think this is one of the finest pieces of music in what is already a crowded array of talent.

Scimitar Extreme follows this wonderful piece of music, the blade associated with mainly middle eastern and African culture – an image of the rather scary looking blade is shown aside. This is a very short track, with some more crunching Rush inspired guitar, bass, and drum prominent, recalling that classic XYZ from Moving Pictures. Pagano here really does show some seriously impressive skin work, obviously deeply influenced by the master Mr Peart.

Lost At Sea cleverly brings us a jazz infused state of confusion and chaos when the basic navigation systems failed on those old vessels, perhaps in the aftermath of a storm, the piano and acoustic guitar prominent in conveying the sense of the lost and the rhythm section again leading a gorgeous charge.

Grand Canyon relates to that mysterious huge gorge of the Colorado River in Arizona, a wonder to behold. With this piece I have embedded below, I see travellers gazing down with a sense of the infinite, either at the cliff edge, or flying over, the orchestration playfully providing us with the spirit of this ancient natural spectacle telling them that it has seen both them and it all before, and will still be with the earth long after the tourists have departed, this message provided defiantly at times with some hard riffs against the loud symphony before that descends into a loving appreciation at the denouement.

We close with a Midnight Detour, and without having to spoken to the duo of their intent with this, puts me in mind of an unplanned harbour/land stop, with the adventurers taking full advantage of the nighttime goodies on offer, bars, restaurants, perhaps something more exotic and erotic, the track having an innate sense of playfulness and fun, especially the organ, bass, drums, and guitars playing off of each other, very much with the influence of jams produced by Purple back in the day.

Through The Hourglass is yet another pleasing surprise in a year which is shaping up to be one of the finest in intelligent rock history. This album is a labour of love by Miller & Pagano, and it is very worthy of your attention and addition to the already bulging collection. A fine album I have so enjoyed listening to and writing about.