A very welcome return to the scene from Dutch outfit, Flamborough Head. This is a special album.

There are times when you need to chill, to take yourself away from the pressures and stress of modern life & work, and simply immerse yourself in some deeply pastoral and emotional music. My dear readers, you are thus presented with the new Flamborough Head album, Jumping The Milestone, and before I begin my review, please take a listen to the opening track, The Garden Shed with which to do all of this, because it is just about the perfect piece of music to do so.

A little history first. This wonderful Dutch band have been about since the 1990’s. Defining The Legacy was my introduction to the band, in 2001. It has been a whole nine years now since the last album, the wonderful Lost in Time. What strikes one immediately with this very welcome return is the gorgeous smoky vocals of Margriet Boomsma, who joined the band for 2002’s One For The Crow. For those of you unfamiliar, think Jacqui Abbot, whose voice I have also always been deeply fond of. It drips with understated emotion and has that jazz/bar room sensibility. She also plays her flute and recorder with real emotion (if anybody thinks that the recorder is simply a child’s starter instrument, listen to her on Start of a Nightmare and Walls of Words/Signs Misread). Of course, we have guiding light Edo Spanninga on keyboards, Eddie Mulder, always impressive on bass guitar (I recently reviewed his mighty fine 2022 solo album, Signature), and Koen Roozen on drums. “New” guitarist, Hans Spitzen makes his studio debut, and puts down a lasting impression on the listener.

This intelligent album is one which demands several listens to fully appreciate. You need time to hear just how gorgeous it is, what a treat it is, especially, as I indicated above, when one is really in need of such aural balm. A very strong nod of appreciation also to Theo Spaaij and Rafal Paluszek (keyboardist with Osada Vida) for the sumptuous cover and design. Take a closer look at https://www.artistattic.online/artists/theo-spaaij and https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paluszek.pl%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3P__ye3jVK-6ML7Y0on7NZUpTuTfuaTrRbyU6t4DBBaHZZPonYbPzfuHM&h=AT3rkI0NohKSbE_zw-16Z-f7FLb_e1skaahhUSu2jTEF_ZRszOo39983LypDblqKSUbeSZLC16tC5R43HKN5XXgz2FU_DHWfiClPuEw-U_AYZl5fGEZoTLiX3_roXlxntGWpY0vEGt3bnul-EdegEg

So, to the individual tracks. There are six of them, engineered by Spanninga & Spitzen, produced by the band, and mastered by Henk Stel. Boomsma wrote the music and lyrics for the first five alongside Mulder (Tomorrow is Another Day, Fear of Failure, and Walls of Words/Signs Misread), Spanninga (The Garden Shed, Start of a Nightmare, and Fear of Failure) and Spitzen (Fear of Failure). Spitzen is the sole writer of the final, and title, track.

As you saw above, The Garden Shed is a 10-minute plus epic to open proceedings. The Garden Shed is a place to withdraw from life in the fast lane. I love the opening passage, which is forceful and a massive statement of intent from the whole band, all of them, not just the vocalist, focusing on the here and now. The track expands some four minutes in with a gorgeous keyboard lead interspersed with a loud guitar riff before that wonderful recorder takes centre stage in concert with piano and a deliciously groovy bass guitar underscoring it. Spitzen, here as everywhere on the album, announces himself with some gusto and style. The acoustic guitar interplay with the recorder is a thing of beauty leading into a powerful guitar solo which then fades and allows the vocal and opening musical themes to reassert themselves. Stunning stuff.

Tomorrow Is Another Day follows. This track strikes me as being another perhaps inspired by the dreadful Covid period. Indeed, the wistful and bright opening, featuring a continuation of the gorgeous recorder and band interplay from the opening track, is somewhat belied by the darker lyrical theme to begin with. “Another clear blue sky, to you it’s a solid grey”. The passages are thoughtful, but the chorus takes this to another level and is quite commercial in its feel. After the second rendition, the pastoral reasserts itself with a vengeance and I really admire the organ before a jazzy guitar and rhythm section change the pace and mood entirely and rather cleverly leading us into the denouement, which is altogether more upbeat, with the lyrics talking of no more clouds on the horizon and the fact that the road ahead is no longer bleak, so a recovery.

Start of a Nightmare is up next. Lyrically, this is a decidedly darker affair. The nightmare is exceptionally real. A stalker, with a gun, at the window, just about every woman’s worst nightmare, and one sadly repeated in real life all too often. The music takes an altogether darker tone, almost dystopian, perfectly reflecting the victim’s feelings. Just over a minute in, the main passage begins and the vocal harmonies behind Boomsma are impressive. The synths of Spanninga provide a drama, whirling in intensity, whilst Spitzen provides a guitar riff dripping with fear and emotion. At four minutes in, the recorder takes centre stage again alongside an acoustic guitar which weeps before Mulder gives us a bassline leading all else. This is as impressive a piece of music as you are likely to hear this year and the scream you hear is real and is stark bringing us into the closing passage, which is deeply moody and, in parts, chaotic.

Fear of Failure follows. Lyrically, I find this rather fascinating. I have been susceptible to wanting to avoid mistakes at work, wanting sometimes far too hard to if not impress, then certainly not to be seen as a failure, and I regard myself as a relatively typical person, and therein lies the cleverness of this piece, because I believe most people listening to it can relate to that fear of failure. It is a track just short of nine minutes long. The band work so well together, and the organ crying out of the speakers combined with the crying guitar are a joy, and you are then struck by just how good a rhythm section Mulder and Roozen are – pulsating and pushing the entire piece along. The guitar solo two minutes in is melancholic, but at its heart this is an upbeat piece of music, looking forwards as with so much of the best of modern rock music and the guitar solo halfway in exemplifies that perfectly before we get a blast of the Boomsma flute which initially has a feeling of doubt but then has the positivity shining through. This is deeply impressive song talking to many of the doubts all of us feel in our day to day lives but telling us to pull ourselves together and to be kind to ourselves, something which I feel is equally applicable in modern society.

Next up is Walls of Words/Signs Misread. The opening notes and the lush piano provide for a deeper musical feel. The theme of this track is somewhat mysterious to me, but I believe that it speaks to a real-life event, a desperately sad one such as a loss or breakup, and the desire to withdraw into a state of solitude, and the inherent dangers and consequences of allowing that to happen. Sadness shared is tragedy averted. The guitar solo just over three minutes in is dripping with regret and when the electric guitar wails, it is simply beautiful, albeit as sad as it comes, and this is continued with the recorder taking over. The mellotron at the close is aching.

The title track is the closing piece, and as noted above, this is written by Spitzen. It is also the longest track at over 12 minutes. It is smouldering. It is a piece resentful when coming across somebody many years later and commenting upon a waste of time and life. There is some lush, mournful orchestration on this piece. The anger thrown at the subject of the song is reflected amply with some parts which scream, others which reflect, and others simply sadly pitying, this no better exemplified by the loveliest guitar solo accompanied by a choral background and Mulder’s evocative bass. “Time has written on your face” – doesn’t it with all of us? The closing third, mainly instrumental, begins with a distinctly retro feel before the melancholy kicks in. The flute is the archetypal progressive rock instrument, and in such hands as this simply conveys so much emotion. Further, the piano which follows shows the effectiveness of conveying a mood without the need for histrionics. The final vocal passage is starkly simple. “Day after day, year after year, life after life we persevere”. The human condition. The denouement is quite simply wonderful and brings to mind those seventies classic albums ending with a flourish worthy of that era.

This is a very special album and is worthy of your support. It is released via Oskar Records and you can buy it at https://independentmusicmarket.com/en/rock/3777-flamborough-head-jumping-milestone-5907811113620.html