The Forever Moment release their third work, Here to Stay, and instantly, the protagonists Steven Leak & Mark Cook’s insistence that they wanted to express themselves and make music which doesn’t fit into a specific genre attracted me.
There is a trailer for the album, so let’s look at that first.
We have ten pieces of music to explore. It kicks off with In Transit, and the official video for this is also embedded here. I just love the dreamy, psych-infused soundscapes created, with Patrick Gaumond providing a relentlessly catchy beat on the drum programming side. Those of you who, like me, love Warr guitar will know that Mark Cook is one of the finest living exponents, and the melodies he creates here are dynamic, breathing life into the room as the whole sound surrounds you. A very strong start and that type of musical delight that you know will unlock different textures and sounds every time you listen to it – indeed, this can be used as a neat summation of the album as a whole.
I write this review with Halloween imminent, so Hour of the Wolf is an appropriate track for the time of year. The opening synth notes presage a contrast to the opening track. It is darker, it is dense and invites you to participate in a cinema show for all your senses. The guest on this track is Wilfried Hanrath, with his rhythm guitar playing so well with the grooves. There is a female voice speaking the words, but I am unsighted on who it is, and she somewhat appropriately asks questions. When the lead and Warr guitars combine, there is a starkness in the chords in a track which does remind me of some of the more adventurous electronica created back in the day but combined with futuristic post rock. One of my favourite instrumentals of 2026.
The Poison was in the Wound would normally be a contender for this website’s “song title of 2026” award in a couple of months, but even this has been outshone by track number 5. The dystopian notes which open here has me imagining the protagonist on the gurney, awaiting treatment to extract the venom which entered the system, and the guitar riffs are full of pain, expressive in the extreme, with the effects becoming dominant. The spoken words quote Vladimir Nabokov, the Russian American novelist.
Fortune’s Dance follows. The storm has broken, and the rain has begun to fall. This piece could easily have sat in amongst the finest of the later period Crimson albums, the sounds created by these strings with a very well understated foundational rhythm simply soaring, with parts of the track very cleverly stripped back, piano and guitars improvising in a dual. I have embedded this below, another track which richly rewards persistence on the part of the listener, because there really is so much going on here, a masterclass in complexity.
We are Living in a Time of Monsters, a New World is Being Born easily gets “title of 2026” award, and, I might add, in this time of political dystopia, varying narcissistic strongmen vying with each other to create the most havoc, it is an extremely knowing title. The line itself is from Antonio Gramsci, the former Italian Communist Party leader. The track is the longest on the album at just over nine minutes, and each riff, each rhythm beat crashing, each soundscape, each hypnotic groove I believe represents these egotists threatening our very existence, a very powerful piece of rock music which reinvents itself as it weaves its patterns through the modern social media landscape, some deliciously complex notes coming at you, the bassline one for the purists out there. the final passage taking a deep breath from all the madness, allowing us to reflect and think, hopefully putting them behind us.
Hope Like a Blanket, Like Wings is up next, and the opening synths are pretty, light, ethereal before we get a supreme guitar solo that really does take you up, and then you cruise along with the bass melody and rhythm guitar, closing your eyes and letting the craftsmen pilot you on the journey, safe and sound, free from the turbulence of what preceded it.
The Overflowing Presence of the Present has, I believe, a spiritual element to it, and I take it to mean the requirement to live in the now, to simply allow life to wash over you and take you to where it wants, not fighting, but accepting. The guitar is very front of stage here, with some nice complexity in the programming beneath it, a track which clearly has elements of Frippertronics influencing it, combining this with contrasting new age, jazz fusion, and symphonic elements, so another piece of music which really has you drinking in the glory of wondering just what on earth is going on, the closing keyboards staggering.
Spellbound is the simplest in terms of nomenclature, and has a very trancey groove to it, the bass singing to us, Cook’s fingers reverberating up and down that fret, the synths creating a rich, warm texture.
Wish We May, Wish We Might is the penultimate track, taken from an American nursery rhyme, and, indeed, the opening beautiful notes could be a lullaby, a passage to take away all your fears and grant you the wish you wish tonight. Juan Dahmen adds a very nice touch here on drums, adeptly dancing in between the two lead musicians, the guitar work hitting some delicious high notes, the bass melody pumping out its grooves nakedly, the orchestration adding the final layer. It is embedded at the foot of the review. It is brilliant.
We close with The Herd of Instinct (for whom Mark plays) mix of The Poison Was in the Wound, and it is a thumping rock collective end to the album, the guitar solo extracting the poison and healing the spirit, Bachman going hell for leather on the drums.
By their very nature, progressive rock fans should be curious, seek out the adventurous, want to debunk the stereotypical, and welcome into their arms that which cannot be classified. Well, this album was made for you, a truly progressive album which will be played here for years to come, and each time it will bring something a bit new, a bit different.
The Forever Moment Personnel:
Steven Leak is one half of The Forever Moment. Steven creates soundscapes using synthesizers, effects pedals, field recordings and found sounds. Steven has recorded music with musicians across the globe and has several solo albums. Steven’s music can be found at https://stevenleak1.bandcamp.com/
Mark Cook is a Warr guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. Mark has recorded and performed with Herd of Instinct, Liquid Sound Company, Gayle Ellett and the Electromags, T.A.P, and Chakra Vimana. https://herdofinstinct.bandcamp.com/
Special Guests:
Patrick Gaumond – drum programming (track 1)
Wilfried Hanrath – lead and rhythm guitar (track 2)
Ottmar Soulier – keyboards (track 4)
Juan Dahmen – drums (track 9)
Bill Bachman – drums (track 10)
Mike McGary – keyboards (track 10)
Rick Read – Chapman Stick (track 10)
Here to Stay can be purchased on Bandcamp at https://theforevermoment.bandcamp.com/album/here-to-stay-2