With An Unfolding of Miracles, Nick Fletcher brings us his sixth album in as many years, a creative streak that surely must warm even the coldest of musical hearts out there.
As with its predecessor, The Mask of Sanity, the album takes its inspiration from the work of Carl Jung, a deeply personal reflection of inner turmoil through to a calmer mindset.
Song of Acceptance (Thirty years earlier) kicks us off, with the storms of life kicking in before a gorgeous acoustic guitar solo reintroduces the listener to the talent inherent in Fletcher’s playing, full of depth and emotion in these deceptively simple notes, the storm closing a short piece reminding us that life is not an easy breeze for most, but full of tempestuous happenings, much like the planet which gives us life.
To be Seen, To be Heard is a wonderful title, and there is a lush drum roll from Roberto Porta to kick off a fusion delight, with some complex guitar synth work (prominent throughout this album), to the fore. The rhythm section is completed by Jonathan Ihlenfeld Cuniado, who adds some deep melodious bass melodies alongside the busy percussion, the electric guitar riffs portraying the basic instinct of demanding respect for one’s endeavours, especially strong in class musicians in these troubled commercial times. Tomasz Bura is a highly regarded pianist and keyboardist in the jazz world and adds some interesting textures both to this and the following track, Light of Becoming, which I believe emanates from Jung’s thoughts that one does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious. This is the longest individual track on the album, and features some interesting duals between keys, synths, and guitars, the percussion work brilliantly driving matters along, and a shout out on this for a clear contender for bass guitar solo of the year by Cuniado, as good as you will hear anywhere, delicious in its grooves and knowing questing after the light. Jazz rock at its finest, the guitar synth taking over as the track progresses. A video for To be Seen, To be Heard is embedded at the foot of the review.
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The lush CD contains poetry from Samantha Turner
The title track follows. Jung believed that only a fool could explain miracles, and, indeed, everything around us, that the true substance of the world is inexplicable, and he tied such events to his understanding of synchronicity. The opening passage shows just how well Fletcher, Porta, and Cuniado have collaborated on this album, this passage being the sound of a genuine band as opposed to disparate individuals providing a session, or two. We are also treated to the first sound on the album of the ghostly, gorgeous voice of Olga “Dikajee” Karpova riding ethereally above the instruments, taking us on that journey of understanding that not everything can be understood. This is a dreamy piece of music, ideal for individual contemplation, meditation, exploration.
Unravelling of Illusions is up next, the biggest of these being the belief that anything can always satisfy everybody, which is as good a commentary, I feel, on the current depressing state of Western democracies, with charlatans trying just that, peddling fantasies as truth and being all things to all men. With this in mind, the opening passage is very suitably angry, as heavy a piece of music you will hear this year, throbbing with outrage in its riffs, a wonderful sense of chaos oozing from the speakers, with long-term producer and collaborator, Caroline Bonnett adding keyboard textures to the chaos, Dikajee’s overlaid voices now threatening, rather than guiding. This intensity does relent a little bit, but only to allow a slow-burning guitar solo from Fletcher to build itself up into a staggering set of riffs, before the band reasserts the chaos. Let us be open with you all, and state unequivocally that we have 2026’s winner of The Nick Fletcher Award for Excellence in this track.
The first part of Only Now in Dreams follows. Jung saw dreams as part of our consciousness, self-portraits in our sleep of the state of our minds at that moment in time. It is a musical calm following what went before it, with some lovely soundscapes above a thoughtful acoustic guitar solo, perhaps a reflection of the musical satisfaction Fletcher finds, rightly, in his creative work at present? I do find the background drumbeats fascinating on this.
The Path of Fire reflects Jung’s oft-quoted association of the Holy Spirit with flames. The rich drum and percussion work is again a highlight of this, the melodious bass burning in the background, and all the while, Fletcher treating us to a mix of riffs on the guitars and guitar synth, a strong Levant flavour enriching it, before, in a sudden change of direction, the guitar presages a symphonic prog burst of beauty that could have emanated from the rich history of Steve Hackett, the complexity of the notes increasing with each passing second, the intensity of the emotion here filling the room with sound.
Our penultimate track is The abscission zone, abscission being the process by which plants discard aged or deceased organs (I tell you – with Nick Fletcher & Lazland, you do, indeed, learn something new every day!). I think this is a homage from Fletcher to his younger days whiling away the night listening to Deep Purple, because the imprint of The Mule is all over it. The improvisational nature of the duelling between drums and guitar synth is wonderful, the bass guitar providing a foundation of throbbing solidity.
The second part of Only Now in Dreams closes off the album, a track I think of as a meditative step down from what preceded it, a musical space in which we can reflect on self, the calmness winning over the chaos of life once we accept that such chaos is a fundamental part of who we are, not being afraid to speak of our fears, but bringing them into our individuality.
This is another exceptional album from Nick. Essential as a purchase for your collection.
An Unfolding of Miracles (The Odyssey of an Empathic Soul)
Personnel:
Nick Fletcher: Guitars, guitar synth, Angel vibe guitar, bass on track 5
Roberto Porta: Drums
Jonathan Ihlenfeld Cuniado: 5 string bass and fretless bass
Special guests
Tomasz Bura: Keyboards tracks 2 & 3
Olga ‘Dikajee’ Karpova: Vocals tracks 4,5, & 9
Caroline Bonnett: Keyboards tracks 5 & 8 plus loops