Also Eden were formed in SW England 21 years ago, and return to delight us with their first recorded output in 13 years, an EP, Holy Book and Credit Cards 1: Promises, which you can obtain on Bandcamp, along with historical works, at https://alsoeden.bandcamp.com/album/holy-books-and-credit-cards-1-promises-ep

The lineup is founders Ian Hodson (keyboards and vocals) and Huw Lloyd-Jones (vocals), alongside longstanding member Simon Rogers (guitars and vocals), with Graham Lane (bass and vocals) and Guy Monk (drums and percussion). Jessi Stephens provides backing vocals on 'Promises' and 'A Painter's Hands', which I played on my radio show of 21st February.

There are four tracks to dissect here, which includes an acoustic version of the opener, and with this and live dates, it looks as if the band are very much back with us as a going concern, something all prog fans will welcome.

So, we kick off with Promises, which is essentially a love song, a commentary on how contented life is with the company of a loved one, with whom at the end of days, you can look back and have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. I live such a life and am very fortunate to do so. Lane and Monk make an instant impression as an efficient rhythm section, Hodson warms it up nicely before the one-minute mark brings in Rogers and a guitar burst to get us rolling. The vocals, when they arrive, bring a sense of majesty to proceedings, and I do particularly like the harmonies realised between lead vocals and Stephens, and a more prominent role from her in the future would, I think, be a positive move. The whole piece has the redolence of those heady days of the UK’s second wave of prog. This is particularly noticeable in the “when we brush the night away” passage, but it is done with so much emotional delicacy that you fall into its arms, and the more I listen, the more I do so. It is a fine start, promising much moving forward.

As mentioned before, I played A Painter’s Hands recently, and it is embedded here for you to enjoy. I am looking forward to discussing the words Huw produced with Simon (who lives locally in God’s Own Country), because this is another track I can strongly relate to. The writer wishes he was a painter, able to capture the moments of sheer beauty in nature which blow and flow all around us. I do not own one granular cell of any artistic merit, I am afraid, and wish I did. The acoustic guitar which opens is gorgeous, the vocals yearning, reaching for that moment of capture beyond its ability to realise. The soundscapes produced are works of art in themselves, and Stephens again produces some nice voices beneath the lead, with the band sounding absolutely comfortable in their skin, Hodson especially channelling his inner Wright in parts, the guitar ghostly throughout. A track which thoroughly deserves as much airplay as it can get.

The last of the new pieces is an epic, Scented Candle Corridors, which has a lyric clearly personal to the writer, full of memories, but that period ended and led to a new world, full of open skies, life moving on. Immediately, there is a different feel to this track, electronica and 80’s synth pop mood in the dark notes and voice to the fore, with powerful and loud prog rock taking precedence when the collective push together and wistful when reminiscing about the past days, everything wished for gone, Lane providing a lovely bass melody against the piano which reminds one of Banks in his pomp. Admirers of quality technical drum work will appreciate Monk’s skills as we move into the final fifth, and there is a suitably bombastic close to a very satisfying epic.

The acoustic version of Promises is an interesting alternative take without bringing anything radically different to the table.

This EP is very good, and I have no hesitation in recommending it to you. I am looking forward to seeing the band live when they next play near here and more new music which we are told is forthcoming.