Consuming the Tangible

We’ve done it. We’ve reached the end of my running exploration of the albums I own of The Tangent (well, excepting their live album Pyramids, Stars & Other Stories), and we’re ending on a doozy. You might notice taking a close look at the album art this this is technically attributed to The Tangent (For One). owing to the busy schedules of the band, it was decided that Andy would take the reins on everything – all instruments, all production and art duties – and create the 13th Tangent album. So To Follow Polaris is Tillison completely solo – but it’s also very much a Tangent album. One where Tillison might be writing and playing everything, but those performances are so steeped in the style of his bandmates that the lines blur even further. And it’s a fantastic record to boot, so enough lallygagging; let’s jump in.

“The North Sky” should immediately ease any fears that this isn’t gong to sound like The Tangent.It’s a great, upbeat rocker that opens with Andy’s layered vocals calling out the chorus before jumping into an extended intro. As expected it’s pretty keyboard heavy, but he does a great job folding in slithering bass lines and a snappy drum beat. The production is exquisite; the drums, while definitely having a bit of that electronic drum feel, are wonderfully mixed, especially the cymbals. There’s great Hammond organ sections, and despite the lack of Theo Travis Tillison does some phenomenal work emulating wind instruments using a Roland AE 01 Aerophone wind controller. I think you can figure out pretty easily lyrically where he’s getting at; all around it’s a fantastic opener and one I keep coming back to when I need a little pick-me-up.

“A Like in the Darkness” sounds to me like if Trent Reznor went back in time and hung with David Bowie, crafting some dark, introspective pop. Kind of the exact inverse of reality (Bowie hanging with Reznor and crafting…well, “I’m Afraid of Americans”). And here’s another thought as I was listening to it the other day on a walk: I don’t think Tillison has ever sounded better vocally. The Bowie influences really shine through here, something I never noticed before. Again the woodwind simulator sounds fantastic, getting all breathy and forlorn. When it explodes into heavy power chords it sounds very heavy, maybe some of the heaviest moments in the band’s career…excepting a later song on the album.

I think everyone would need a little light after that, and so we get the confectionary prog-pop (meant in the best way) of “The Fine Line” with its Zappa flavors right up front in the song’s intro. There are shades of psychedelia and more of that luscious Bacharach pop, especially that melody line in the chorus played by the virtual horn section. We even get a “guitar” solo, and it’s fine! The song moves into a cool jazz rhythm for Andy’s keyboard break and despite not being what folks consider modern “prog” to my ears it might be one of the most progressive songs on the album for how it moves between different moods while maintaining a generally sunny disposition.

Any sun is short-lived, however. Because we now get to the meat of To Follow Polaris, the 21-minute madness of “The Anachronism”. As someone who suffers from significant anxiety, hearing Tillison personify that feeling in the chaotic opening riff (a cadence that will echo through the song) hits really hard. There are terrific clashing electronics and effects and the sound gets almost to thrash before settling into a keyboard run that places it firmly back in the prog rock camp. But like anxiety, that desperate feeling of hopelessness can creep back in at any moment, and Tillison uses that throughout “The Anachronism”. Lyrically it’s a political rant about the state of the world, familiar territory for Tillison but for the first time for me he truly wraps his anger and rage and despair into a song that mirrors back that frustration. I love it precisely for that reason, for reflecting back at me something personal that resonates, even if those reverberations highlight different origins points…does that make sense?

Does it need to?

In what seems to be a signature move for The Tangent, To Follow Polaris ends with “The Single” which brings back the upbeat rock vibe to close things on a positive note. I really like the way the album opens and closes on these uplifting, more positive moments. Do I miss the sound of the full band? I do, and if I have any wish it would be to hear the full band interpret these songs in a live environment. But I wouldn’t for one moment replace this version of the album for when where the entire band plays, because there’s something unique about the experience of hearing Mr. Andy Tillison completely express himself, and I come away pleasantly surprised that To Follow Polaris might be my favorite album of the The Tangent’s recent run of excellent records.

One more note before we close: I’ve seen a lot of reviews talk about the album “closing” with the three and half minute “radio” edit of “The North Sky. That is NOT how the album ends. The albums closes with “The Single” and then you get two bonus tracks – the radio edit of “The North Sky” and – for those who got the special edition CD – a “bonus” track, the Zappa freak out of “Tea at Betty’s”. It’s a great bonus track, but I can hear why Tillison didn’t mark it as part of the album proper. As for the radio edit, it’s a different mix and is quite good, but it’s not part of the actual album cycle. It’s a bonus track, and it’s kind of silly that folks are not getting that.

There. Small rant over. Instead of a pic, here’s a video of Andy Tillison talking about To Follow Polaris. An album I love, and can’t wait to put on again.