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Pure Reason Revolution: Above Cirrus
Pure Reason Revolution - Above Cirrus Album Art

Pure Reason Revolution: Above Cirrus

Alternative/Progressive Rock/Metal
4.0/5.0

After a ten year absence, founding members Chloe Alper (vocals, bass guitars, keyboard) and Jon Courtney (vocals, guitars, keyboards) returned to their Pure Reason Revolution (PRR) project. The duo dropped Eupnea, their fourth album, in 2020. Today we find the band still united and also adding former member Greg Jong (vocals, guitars) who appeared on the EP Cautionary Tales For The Brave. The band, suggesting influences from Pink Floyd to Porcupine Tree, Fleetwood Mac to Nirvana and more, return with their fifth album, Above Cirrus.

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Pure Reason Revolution

To remember, or perhaps reflect, PPR blends musical lines that draw from classic prog, alternative music, and electronic sounds. The content of their song arrangements lead mostly with synths, strong riffs, and poly rhythms for the bass and drums. The guitar lines are subtle, solos minimalist. The music is inherently dense, emotional and cathartic in feeling, yet traversing between heaviness, benign vocals, and soft segues. These things are transparent within Dead Butterfly, Lucid, and Our Prism. New Kind Of Evil diminishes the heaviness to a small segue and offers a guitar solo so quiet in the middle that you'll likely miss it the first time around. But the most interesting arrangement within this album is also the longest song, Scream Sideways, having exception rock rhythm and groove, playful synth and guitar atmosphere and, about the midpoint, a wonderful, jazz-like, instrumental segue. This is in contrast to a very heavy conclusion to the song before vocal harmony leads the listener out. It was my favorite song here. With Above Cirrus we once more find Pure Reason Revolution at their best, merging classic prog into a new wrapper including alternative and electronic influences. If you've enjoyed past work, you will likely enjoy Above Cirrus.




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The Take Away

With Above Cirrus we once more find Pure Reason Revolution at their best, merging classic prog into a new wrapper including alternative and electronic influences. If you've enjoyed past work, you will likely enjoy Above Cirrus.

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