Music soothes your soul when it storms – thus, the tagline on this work by The Foundation, a musical project founded by keyboardist and DJ, Ron Lammers. Relations is their second release which draws together well known and highly regarded veterans of the progressive rock scene, so Mark Smit on vocals and piano; guitarist Rinie Huigen; bass guitarist, Gijs Koopman; Jens van der Valk on guitars; Masaki Shimakawa plays violin; Judith van der Valk is the flautist; and drummer Jan Grijpstra.
The album can be purchased at https://thefoundationproject.bandcamp.com/album/relations
The artwork requires a strong mention – it is stunning, so a huge shoutout to Douwe Fledderus of Blissy Design https://www.blissycmsdesign.nl/
The collective state that they unashamedly seek to recreate the classic prog rock of the 1970’s & 1980’s, which can be a positive or negative. In my book, there is nothing wrong at all with this, after all I grew up listening to such music, but I do like the approach to be original, to bring something a little bit new or different to the table.
Does this thematic album revolving around relationships deliver that? Let’s find out.
We begin with Alpha. The flute you hear at the beginning before the explosion of sound is gorgeous and brings with it a warm feeling that this might be worth sticking with, and the synths rising above the band merely stamps that impression upon you. Smit has an expressive voice, and he tells the story of the meeting with a mysterious traveller in an old village inn such as the one I drink in very well. The whole sound is Immersive, and, critically to me, sounds modern. Yes, it nods to glories past, but there is nothing derivative to these ears, it is merely a gorgeous noise. A strong start to proceedings which impressed upon me the need to explore further. The final couple of minutes are presaged by a tremendous bassline and melodic guitar solo.
Beauty of Nature is an instrumental track. The flute again introduces us, alongside the tin whistle. It is beautiful alongside the sound of the river underneath us, and you close your eyes, and allow the sound to capture the bucolic scene. I have embedded this below, a track which with its flowing guitars, crunching bass (Koopman is incredible throughout), and soaring sound is a strong contender for “instrumental of the year” on this website. In parts, it reminds me of some of Martin Orford’s solo output, no bad thing in this reviewer’s mind.
Lyrically, Backbone speaks strongly to me, reminding me of the good fortune I have in being able to still proclaim my love for my rock, my life companion, the mother of our children, and the only thing which stands between me and disaster. What a lovely acoustic guitar to start, setting the scene, the violin creating the soundscape before the guitar burst heralds the second quarter, a stunning solo, the synths expressive. The vocals have the perfect pitch emotionally. The bass guitar takes your breath away, as good as you will hear anywhere, the tin whistle taking the song to new heights before the keys assert their dominance moving into the final passage, the guitars crying. It will take a very special song to beat this for my “love song of 2025” award at year end. Stunning music.
Ses Lunettes Noires translates as His Dark Glasses. The piano introducing is playful in its intensity, the vocals suitably dramatic in the French, the bass melody understated, the pedals pulsing, the guitar solo flying. The keys provide for a gentle backdrop, and this is such a pastoral delight, a very pleasant surprise. It is embedded below for you.
Intense. Life is full of challenges. Relationships take work, sometimes very hard work, and the song references wider issues by imploring us to let the daylight in, leave the night behind. This is a prog pop track in the tradition of Asia, Grijpstra especially channelling his inner Palmer, the keys parp parping a la Geoffrey, the guitar bursts even reminding one of Howe’s Gibson in full flow. It is good, but perhaps the least original track on the album thus far, although I do love the shrill endgame, full of noise, the vocals imploring daylight to return.
Rubberband (for Nienke) is up next, and I sense some sadness in these lyrics, perhaps owing to a beloved daughter leaving home to start her life adventures, but always welcome back home. This is an epic length track and there is, from the opening guitar riffs, a desire by the band to fill your senses, the collective pulling together a huge noise from towering synths to crunching rhythm section, a statement of intent if ever I heard one. Essentially we have here an epic which Prog Archives would call neo-prog, a mix of the classic symphonic, pastoral flute & acoustic guitar, harder passages, all brought together in a package which does bring the classic era to mind, but I believe that The Foundation have done it in a manner which is respectful, a tribute, yes, but absolutely a sound of this band and definitely wrapped up in the overarching album theme of relationships and interactions.
Life is very reflective, discussing self, what will become of one not only here, but in the hereafter, and coming to terms with the inherently contradictory emotions we have in our inner self. There is some Americana in here alongside the more traditional progressive folk, and the combination is pleasing, the vocals particularly telling the story, the flute playfully interspersing, and the pace picking up, the bass guitar underpinning the race to the end before the core pastoral theme reasserts itself to close, the a cappella voice stark at the end. A delightful piece of music which is embedded below.
We close with Omega. We reacquaint ourselves with our traveller, he is our friend, and his story has no end, a commentary on our eternal journey of adventure, self, and fulfilment of destiny. It is just shy of the epic length, and is the perfect bookend to Alpha, intelligent spiritual discourse accompanied by some of the warmest music you will hear in 2025, at times soaring in the finest symphonic tradition, certainly influenced by WAW Genesis, for sure, but a gentle tribute, as opposed to outright plagiarism, and nicely carrying that album’s glow, the warmth flowing from the speakers as we reach the conclusion in a bath of noise.
So, does Relations deliver what I wanted? An unequivocal yes. It stays the right side of originality. It wears its influences and yearning for the classic period on its sleeve, but it delivers it in a modern package, a theme which we can relate to strongly, musically extremely strong, and, in truth, impossible to not like, and on that basis, I have no hesitation in recommending it to you.