Magick Nuns 2024
All that glitters in a dead man’s chest: a salty dog of art-rock scenes goes to sea to see the treasures of the world.
Conceptuality and adventurousness might be the pillars which carry the weight of prog’s portico, yet how many albums with such enticing entrances offer a pure adventure concept to the listener without sticking to highfaluting symbolism of “The Lamb” and its ilk? As one of the genre’s most ardent advocates, Nick Magnus has had skin in the game far too long to not see this inconsistency – or, at least, flaw – and though he was guilty as charged, with the likes of "N'Monix" serving up quintessential art-rock experiences, the veteran’s flights of fantasy led him here. Comprised of eight pieces, each worth much more than a few pieces of eight, “A Strange Inheritance” finds the ivories master dive for melodic pearls in the company of usual suspects, members of his creative family, and drive over the map provided by Dick Foster’s lyrics in search for precious stones and metals – with little care for style as opposed to emotional substance.
Staying unexcited is not really an option when there are stories of female pirates and tales of tall ships. All the yarns come set to music of the equally evocative, cinematic even, scope, especially when the magnificent oratorio “Four Winds” emerges almost devoid of verbal intent in order to favor the four symphonic movements that, entirely sculpted by keyboards, will do the talking instead. Still, the epic “An Almost Silent Witness” starts the album up with sound effects and a spoken-word prologue before Nick’s fingers and voice draw a riveting topline, a topsail of sorts, and the strum of John Greenwood’s guitars and the strands of Steve Hackett‘s harmonica anchor and decor this heart-tugging sea shanty. With the folk elements of Magnus’ opus floating into focus to augment the platter’s imagery, the songs’ details feel very alluring in the piano-rippled dramas of “Blood Money” and “Black And Scarlet” in which Tony Patterson’s soft vocals contrast six-string riffs and synthesizer waves to get complemented with an exquisite acoustic lace on the former cut and pop refrains on the latter.
But while same effervescence serving as an engine behind “Welcome To The Island” which drenches Ginger Bennett’s singing in jazzy gloaming, percussive intrigue and tribal chant, “Philadelphia” bares sublime, baroque-like balladry and allows Nick’s solemn organ and sympathetic pipes to bolster what could be a domestic trouble, if not for twists and turns fit for romantic novel which elevate the narrative to tragedy only to leave it open-ended. However, “At Sea At Night” tones down the storm to deepen the orchestral gloom until elegiac passages invite the dawn onboard, and the Louise Young-delivered “To Whom It May Concern” brings the voyage to a close in a serenade manner to render the record’s finale deliciously fragile. Filled with dimmed brilliance, “A Strange Inheritance” is a treasure chest whose delights keep on giving, as any great adventure should.
*****