From The Wirral, we have Wherever Forever, the third studio album release from Spirergy, the project of talented multi-instrumentalist, Dave Allen, seen on this website a couple of times last year in his collaboration with Colin Powell, Riffstone.

This is my first 2026 album review, and, well, I’ve started off with one hell of a work, the themes discussed being human conflict, innocence, hope, cosmic journeys, and the human condition.

I have already played Falling from the Sky on my radio show of 13th December and more will follow. I would recommend an immediate trip to https://spirergy.bandcamp.com/album/wherever-forever

Prior to the discussion, I would echo Dave’s acknowledgement of sound engineer, Colin McKay, (The Swan Chorus) who mixed and mastered the album, creating a sonic joy, for sure.

Eight pieces released on 2026 New Year’s Day. Here we go.

We open with Innocent Hearts, which discusses the harrowing effects of war on innocent populations, and, by God, aren’t we continuing to see that in 2026? It is my earnest hope that mankind might one day mature and leave all the senseless brutality and narcissism behind, but we are a way off that, I am afraid. Immediately, there is a room-filling energy to this, the organ leading a riff-charged race of destruction, and the vocals when they arrive are punctuated with genuine emotion, and Allen has a full range to his voice, as of course, we have witnessed this last year on the Riffstone albums, and there are some decent harmonies embedded. My good friend, Thomas Szirmay, The Prog Rogue, was absolutely correct in his recent review in identifying Allen channelling his inner Geddy on the basslines witnessed. The guitar solo which enters the final minute is pitch perfect. A very strong start to this album.

Next up is When They Came, just short of the epic length, heralding the arrival of an indifferent, invading force causing fear and destruction. I have embedded this track below, and what a lush sound emanates from the speakers, the guitar ghostly making the hairs on the back of your head stand up in anticipation of what is to come for the innocents. The introduction of the organ brings with it a bluesier hue, more bass riffs thundering out, the vocals urgently narrating the ongoing horror, exemplified by the dirty, distorted guitar solo mid-song, and here there is some direct influence from the work of Oldfield. The points Allen makes about lives meaning nothing to the invaders, but should have value, is well made.

Carry Me Home is the first epic on display, over ten minutes of music telling the story of a lost soldier being carried to safety by a comrade, war, of course, telling us repeatedly of such brave feats of compassion on the battlefield. Allen produces a bass melody Squire himself would have been rather proud to produce, the guitars are joyful in their gratitude to the rescuer, and the vocal range on display is as full as you are likely to hear. The mid-passage instrumental is initially pastoral joy, quite beautiful before segueing into a jazzy delight, piano plinking all over the show before the main theme reasserts itself strongly. An early contender for this website’s “epic of the year” award.

We have a video for the instrumental, See it in your Eyes, and it is embedded below, a song of that connection and frisson one feels when one looks into the lover’s eye. I am blessed that I still get that 26 years on. The musicianship on this is of the highest order, and in tone, quiet intensity, is nigh on perfect, altogether moving, and the use of landscapes around The Wirral is impressive in the visual side of this.

I played Falling from the Sky on my radio show of 13th December, this describing a child's frozen fear upon witnessing an object falling from the sky, symbolizing incoming destruction, something children in Ukraine are witnessing daily still. What Allen does so well is to set the tone, and the synths are perfect here in making you look up, the noise of the drones or missiles becoming apparent with the guitar work, the bass (especially when it takes on the lead) and programming setting the pulse racing, the voice emotive, the conclusion darkly dramatic.

It's Here Again is a reflection on the constancy of the world's cycles, so the sun, the days, weeks and years. I think this is a fine track, a cheerful meditation on the constants which define our existence, but we rarely stop to think about them, but I especially like it as the counterpoint to the destruction wrought before, in that these simple appreciations are what our Ukrainian and other children should be filled with, as opposed to all the death and damage which is their lives now. The guitar solo is full of life.

In the Small Hours is a song about that most awful condition, insomnia, and waking from a bad dream. The change in mood again strikes one, from the major to the minor, and, indeed, all modern life seems to be contained in this fine album, and it is this which makes it so relatable, the vocals here turning on the emotion very cleverly, seeking the oblivion of blessed sleep, but unable to do so, so the riffs crash, the guitar mourns, the synths attempt to calm, but get carried away themselves as the mind moves into overdrive, the bassline urgent.

We close with the title track, another epic running at sixteen minutes, and it is the end of our journey, escaping this planet of ours, all the hate and fear, seeking a new home amongst the stars, going wherever, forever. It starts off with the flourish of a galactic Turn It On Again, the emphasis here on expansion, as opposed to introspection, and the guitar riffs which take over alongside the vocals are optimistic, looking forward, the subject floating at speed on a base of energy. Close your eyes, allow your mind to expand, and this is where it will take you. The guitar work is incredible, a symphonic progressive rock masterclass, talking in, yes, influences from across the spectrum, but melding it all into a unique cohesive individualistic whole, the move into a “time to dream” uplifting, the riffs of the start coming back with a loud flourish.

This album is fully deserving of our support. An intelligent work melding the classic with the now.