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Spock's Beard: Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep
Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep Review

Spock's Beard: Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep

Melodic Progressive Rock
5.0/5.0

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InsideOut Music
by Craig Hartranft,  05.24.2013

Spock's Beard's eleventh album, Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep is two discs of melodic progressive rock awesomeness. Maybe that's all you need to know, and it's likely you've already bought this album.

Spock's Beard Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep Band Photo

Spock's Beard: hands in pockets.

But indulge for a few comments anyway. Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep is the first album with Enchant vocalist Ted Leonard and long serving tour drummer Jimmy Keegan in place of Nick D'Virgilio, who left the band in 2011 for personal reasons. It also includes two songs written with former member Neal Morse: Afterthoughts and Waiting for Me (see lyric video below), where Morse provides additional guitar.

You get two CDs, the primary CD with seven songs and a bonus disc of four more songs and a shorter remix of Something Very Strange from the former. According to several sources, including the band website, the Limited Edition includes a fifth song on the bonus disc, Postcards From Perdition. Even though my copy has 'limited edition' imprinted on the back, it does not include this track.

Fundamentally, then, what you have with Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep is Spock's Beard at the top of their game, being creative and engaging. One of the signatures to their compositions, and the album as a whole, is the simple ability to keep you intrigued and listening. Without question every song does that. The band is also quite good at allowing every member significant contributions to each song; although some might say with this album Ryo Okumoto has an edge. Check out The Man You're Afraid You Are on the bonus disc. Yet the real treat here, the thing that ups their game, is the addition of Ted Leonard as their lead vocalist. His delivery is smooth and melodious, offering the strengths of natural effortless and singular passion. His voice with the music, at times, gives the feeling of classic English progressive rock.

Spock's Beard's Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep is simply terrific, majestic melodic progressive rock. Best tracks? All. Favorite tracks: Down a Burning Road, A Treasure Abandoned, I Know Your Secret, and Afterthoughts.

Spock's Beard - Afterthoughts (Lyrics Video)


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In Short

Spock's Beard's Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep is simply terrific, majestic melodic progressive rock.

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