Doing another skip in The Tangent discography (I do like and will own at some point The Slow Rust of Forgotten Machinery) and moving up to 2018 with Proxy. If 2015’s A Spark in the Aether was meant to be some kind of return to form (to fine if somewhat mixed results), Proxy feels more like the band I came to discover and love. Most of the team is back, and the music plays to Tillison’s strengths with two big epics and three slightly less epic though no less fun songs to really get the band back on their stride. For me this is the start of a great run, so let’s get into the weeds.

Subtitled A protest, a reflection, a couple of regrets and a rant the album was an opportunity for more collaborative recording, as much of it was done during the band’s 2017/18 tour with Karmakanic. With the major players at this point in place (Tillison, Reingold, Machin, and Travis) the album welcomes new drummer Steve Roberts and kicks off in grand fashion with the protest song, aka the six-part title track, and it’s a barnstormer. The repeating motif immediately pulls you in, and it’s that classic funky sly progressive rock the Tangent really excel in like no one else. The first few minutes are all overture, and Roberts instantly makes his impact known, perhaps feeling he’ll be bringing some stability since he’s on the next few albums as well. My MVP Theo Travis injects some luscious flute, and Reingold and Machin are as tasty as ever.

But the real surprise for me is Andy Tillison, which really shouldn’t be since he’s the leader and songwriter. But in “Proxy” he’s writing with a vengeance, penning some of his most robust and muscular riffs in a while, and getting downright bloody in his lyrics, about our tendency to do things at a remove so as to not get our hands dirty. His organ and synth work is phenomenal, and there’s a section that’s as close to a metal breakdown as they’ve gotten to this point. But the beauty (or folly, if you’re not a fan) of The Tangent is that breakdown is immediately attached to a wonderful flowing R&B funk groove with Theo Travis laying down some great horn work. Mixed and produced by Tillison, it also sounds better than the previous few albums (at least on vinyl, where compared to my lossless digital files it sounds massive). Next up is the instrumental “The Melting Andalusian Skies” and Machin combines with Roberts to bring up some latin flourishes on guitar and percussion before the rest of the band Tangent-fizes it. As the reflection component of Proxy, it’s a really nice showcase for everyone, and also a great ending to Side A of the record.

Side B brings us those couple of regrets, starting with “A Case of Misplaced Optimism” which slinks its way in with a sneaky laid back beat and Tillison’s signature sing-song vocal cadence. It’s the funkiest track by far, but doesn’t stop from an accelerated chorus section and real nice keyboard excursions. I really like when the Tangent get in this mode, where things get super funky and almost poppy, but lays on some wicked soloing from everyone.

The vinyl ends with the second epic, the 16-minute 80s pop excursion of “The Adulthood Lie,” again divided up into six different sections, but really this is another lengthy excuse for the band to just let it loose, although the tone sits firmly in 80s pop and art rock. There are those moments of heaviness, but this is still Tillison in his element, injecting a lot of small pieces and nuances, particular at the track’s end, when the music fades back and its him and a lot of synths and keyboards before Roberts and Reingold jump back in.

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Now, I said that was the end of the vinyl, but for whatever reason that’s because when InsideOut pressed Proxy they decided against a double album; if they had they could have easily fit both the actual final song, the Genesis inspired (in name, at least) “Supper’s Off” and the bonus cut “Excerpt from Exo-Oceans,” a cut from one of Tillison’s side projects. But they didn’t…good thing they did – and do typically – offer a CD bundled in with their vinyl releases. What makes it a weird choice here is that for my money “Supper’s Off” is a great ending song, energetic and carrying some of my favorite Tull-inspired moments (not to mention a little of that Genesis flavor). I like it a little more than “The Adulthood Lie” so it’s good to have the CD and digital files handy when I want some really rocking riffs in my Tangent.