Chicago based multi-instrumentalist and producer David M. Stowell goes against the grain, releasing a full-on progressive rock album, A Raven in Flight. He gave lyricist David Taylor II a call to write the words. Stowell himself is not much of a vocalist, but his little black book is filled with the name of ace singers. Lizzie Crowe (Cheshire Moon), Alyssa Yeager (Rhiannon’s Lark), and Sunnie Larsen helped him out.
Looking at the sky for inspiration he came up with a suite of connected songs about space travel and love. Setting the stage with a track about a moon circling around Saturnus (Dawn Of Enceladus) he embarks on a journey that never have really happened - it could have been a figment of his inspiration or a dream. The raven is popular fixture in mythology and literature, acting as a precursor of death, a messenger or a companion for a God of war. By choosing this animal Stowell can apply a bird's eye perspective to his music, a sprawling tapestry of rock and electronics.
The story line itself is a bit cumbersome, but the music is a fine example of rock without a safety net, taking cues from the seventies heyday of the genre via Porcupine Tree-inspired loud guitar, and 21st century textures made possible by digital trickery. It allows the listener to float gently through space (Equinox) and contemplate the mindboggling distances in outerspace (Echoes Of Time, Moltova Nebula).
- Dawn Of Enceladus
- Into The Glass
- Moderation
- Sleepwalk
- Echoes Of Time
- Lover's Day
- Moltova Nebula
- Equinox
- In Flight
- The Road
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