Broken Springs are a progressive rock band based in Hungary, featuring French vocalist Madeline Besson, who has one of those voices one falls for immediately upon first listen.

Their debut album, Hidden Door can be found (in individual tracks) at https://brokensprings.bandcamp.com/

I played Coastline on my radio show on 23rd May, and it is fair to say that it went down very well, including with my very good friend, Mr. Szirmay, The Prog Rogue. The band hail from his hometown.

The lineup is French vocalist Madeline Besson (Molly Moonshine), bassist Tibor Kozák, guitarist and keyboardist József Simkó, drummer Gergely Sumalán, and guitarist Péter Tóth.

This is a conceptually loose album - The “Hidden Door” itself acts as a recurring motif throughout the record — a symbolic portal through which the songs open into another dimension of perception. Each track reflects a different aspect of the human experience, so the type of intelligent and humanistic music this website lives for.

There are seven tracks to consider in another of those albums which light up one’s life in a time of the utmost despair online.

We start off with Stray Heart, split into three parts, the first The Reason and the Fear; an evocative instrumental serving as a very nice palette cleanser for the album to follow, and from the off, Kozák shows himself to be a master of the four-string melodious bass. This is followed by The Stairway and the Portal, the band collectively producing a gorgeous pastoral soundscape, Besson emotive with her words, that mix of fragility and narrative I admire so much in the finest of singers, the mellotron used to deep impact to segue us into Find Me closing a track not far short of the epic length, the lyrics deeply intelligent confronting both the societal issue of what world we bequeath to our children, but also wondering about precisely where, if anywhere, we go after this life has passed. This final segment has some nice funk at its core, the guitar solo rising to provide an emotional uplift. It all sounds so lush, the highest of production values applied – a superb start to proceedings.

Release is in memory of József Simkó’s father, featuring sublime evocative cello from Vivien Netti Novak and violin from Nora Kacsenyak (the closing passage is so emotional). The official video is embedded below, and you will, I am sure, share my delight at the intelligent pop rock looking back, the memories, the love, the theme of what we bequeath again. The vocal performance is simply stunning, and Simkó proves himself masterful at creating the perfect backdrop with piano and synths, with some of the delicate guitar work tugging at those heartstrings. The love at passing is so strong here, and this is a contender for “Track of 2026” on my website awards. Beautiful.

Rachel Revisited addresses the critical issue of domestic abuse, from the female perspective, and is instantly darker, some electronica providing the narrative of suffering, the guitar, bass, and percussion spartan, the vocals perfectly describing the lies that victims tell to hide the pain, the suffering, the bullying, but also the bravery of breaking free – here the bass melody is incredibly powerful, the guitar solo dripping with emotion. A masterful commentary on a societal issue which continues to haunt our collective societies.

Coastline talks about our relationships, from the ecstasy to the emotional depths. We are invited to play it loud, with the lights off (Brave had the same invitation), and to reflect on what makes a love so special. This is another track in excess of nine minutes, and the start is a meandering atmosphere before the main song kicks in with a burst of jazz-fusion riffs, settling down into a more accessible pastoral vibe, and the vocals are simply a dream. The final passage is presaged by a sax solo by Peter Czako, taking us right back into more jazz orientated territory, so there is a huge amount going on. The official visualiser is embedded below for you.

Epic time for The Brother of Sleep, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, his classic fairy tale about a statue which comes to life and a selfless swallow who sacrifices his existence, from the off, the bright notes herald a contender for “epic of 2026” at my annual awards, the voice at the heart of everything which is good here, emotive and capturing a period very effectively. The second passage has more of those jazz sensibilities this band do so very well, the production in the voices coming to the fore, some wonderful rhythm section work at its foundation, the synths providing for a mood at the top. “Death is the brother of sleep, is he not?” is one of those rightly famous literary quotes it is used to suitably dramatic impact here. The intensity builds up as we move into the closing passage, some great percussive work, the keys moody, the bass riffs moving into heavier territory, the synths providing a heavy orchestral overlay, the guitar beneath menacing in their chords.

The Other Side is song about connection beyond distance and collaboration across borders – just look at the video embedded below, with participants from 34 countries, and guests including Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings, Transatlantic), Jimmy Keegan (Spock’s Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals), and Kylan Amos (Arena). Peace. International connection. We are one race – wouldn’t it be nice to act like it? So, let’s share a song, or two. Let’s stop all the hate. Sometimes, the music itself is of less importance than the message it means to convey, but, thankfully, it delivers on the tune side as well, a pleasant ballad, uplifting, and Besson vocally gorgeous, and a prog flourish to end proceedings, a sublime guitar solo to accompany the worldwide participants, accessible prog rock at its best. Just love it.

We close with Riders – a four-part epic based upon The Book of Revelation, this, of course, tackled mightily by Genesis back in the day, and, therefore, a somewhat brave move to attempt to emulate that high point in progressive music history. Fifteen minutes of music, and the beginning takes you back not to symphonic giants, but Celtic rock from the likes of Iona and Karnataka, and it is distinctly wistful, the voices floating in the air accompanied by sparsely effective music, and the band show their prog chops so well in the manner in which the tempo and tone increases, almost creeping up on you, the orchestration dark, forceful. I like the use of organ against piano, guitar, and a prominent bassline, and this group are so effective in merging the classic prog, the deep, rich guitar solos (the one that plays us out is astonishing), the pastoral, the jazz, the classical (witness the gorgeous piano solo leading the way to the final part). So much going on, so much to delight those who appreciate more than just a catchy tune.

Hidden Door is another highlight of another incredibly productive year in progressive music. Miss this album at your peril.