Edison's Children

Quotes from 5 minute podcast...

"The emotional payoffs are frequent and powerful" "Very Very Strong Stuff... the Production is Outstanding, "The Final Breath Before November" is is a Great Album!... Highly Recommended" Music - A; Lyrics - A-; Production - A+; Overall - A; "My first ever A+ Given for Production" - Brian Morris

It's difficult to know where to start when reviewing this utterly unique (at least in 2013) album from Edison's Children. Their sophomore album, "The Final Breath Before November", is both atmospheric and focused. It's eerie, yet strangely beautiful. It leaves a shadow over your mind, but somehow feels clear and clean, too.

Edison's Children wowed the prog community back in 2011 with a stunning debut album. Their sophomore effort, however, disappoints by no means. Their Floydian atmospheres mix perfectly with their efforts at eclecticism, both in instrument choice and structure. Honestly, I was quite impressed from beginning to end, even though this is a lengthy album, including a final multi-track song that is over an hour long. Is all of this a problem? No! It doesn't bring the album down at all.

This, my friends, is interesting music. I said earlier that it is quite atmospheric. Yes, much of the album is very mellow and drenched in personality and aura. It contains layers and layers of sound and melody that will send shivers down any prog fan's spine. However, the band knows how to structure an album expertly, too. After a few shorter, foundational tracks; the band delves right into their "epic" without any hesitation. It is grand. It is synthy. And it is elegant. Yes, that's the word. This album is elegant in a dark and channeled fashion.

This album features amazing guitars that are meaningful. That's one of the first impressions I had. The solos especially are incredibly well-composed and full of soul. However, my favorite part of this album is the presence of synth. This adds a delicious contrast to the classic vibe of the guitar with its fluid strength and its quirky, addictive tone. Solos abound, too, of which I'm a huge fan. "The Final Breath of November" also features one of my favorite drummers, Henry Rogers of Touchstone and DeeExpus. His mix of technicality, melodic support, and amazing fills is so very welcome on this album, and he serves as yet another layer of sound that stands out on its own. "Silence Can Be Deafening, Part II" is especially indicative of Rogers' skill as he opens the throttle wide at the end. Imagine this, melody + haunting atmosphere + expert drumming. It's a combination I really can't resist, and it's what you will experience along the journey that is this album.

The creepy themes are somewhat put on the backburner, honestly, as most of the album is instrumental. However, we do get ideas of metamorphosis and the like. It's almost scary, but more like intriguing and mysterious. This ingenious album readily deserves the praise it has gotten, and is definitely a keeper from 2013. Arcing, masterfully crafted, and proggy to its core; Edison's Children's "The Final Breath Before November" is a winner. 90/100 - Jason

I love this album, and it is one that is, and will, be getting lots of positive reviews. It is a partnership between Marillion’s Pete Trewavas, and Eric Blackwood, who is part of the Marillion crew, but also has a solid rock pedigree himself, most recently guitarist with Crimson Steel. The album also features at some point Marillion’s members in guest spots. Although I am sure this will appeal to Marillion fans, this is not a Marillion clone, and has its own distinct identity.
There are 14 tracks on this concept album. Exactly what the concept is seems unclear both on the album and on their website, but seems to be connected with life. “The First Waking Moments.. and Death “The Last Waking Moments. This concept is apparently mainly in the music with two particular musical themes that appear and re-appear throughout the album. I believe just how fond you are of these two themes will influence how much you enjoy this album. I loved them, especially the title track and its reappearance throughout the album was a highlight, although I have read some reviews where the reviewer has found the album a little repetitive.
The album opens with “Dusk” a gentle start, but then we are treated to four tracks that really set the scene and include the title track theme, and “fallout” the other theme which has four parts spread across the album. Within this opening section is “A Million Miles Away (I Wish I Had A Time Machine), one of the most infectious melodies you will hear in a long time, and will stay in your head for the rest of the day. In fact I have just heard that at the time of writing this (which will be several weeks before you read it) they have released the song as a single and it is currently 57 in the US Singles chart.
When you think you may have been lulled into what may be a more gentle symphonic album your senses are assaulted with “Outerspaced”, a heavy guitar riff track with Pete Trewavas shouting the vocals. This heavier rock style appears elsewhere on the album particularly later on with “Lifeline”. The “Other” Other Dimension is an unusual but interesting track, however the highlights for me are the title track, which appears about two-thirds of the way through and brings together in a glorious almost 8-minute song, the theme that we have been teased with previously.
The Other highlight is the epic 15 minute plus ‘The Awakening (Slowburn)’ a symphonic gentle track that does ‘Slowburn’ in the middle section but then builds to a lovely ending with beautiful harmonies and choir. This effectively closes the album apart from the short acoustic ‘Fallout (Of the 4th Kind)’
I have listened to this now several times, and I know it will appear on my CD player on a regular basis. The melodies will certainly get into your head, and it is better for listening to a few times to really enjoy it. A top release for 2012. - The Classic Rock Society

I've always found a good maxim for life is that the most interesting people and things are those that have a few faults or imperfections. Women, footballers, art, music - it seems that in order to enhance the brilliance there has to be a fallibility or two - the flawed genius if you will.

And thus it is here with Edison's Children and their first full album 'In The Last Waking Moments' where the majesty of a superb contemporary progressive rock masterpiece is occasionally interrupted by moments of complete aberration. These moments are, thankfully, few and far between, but in a strange way serve to enhance the overall feeling that this is a remarkable, even beautiful record.

Hardly surprising when you realise that Edison's Children are Pete Trewavas, bass player extraordinaire from Marillion and Transatlantic, and Eric Blackwood, guitarist from Sunblister and many other NY alt-rock bands.

Throw into the mix appearances from Steve Rothery (Marillion), Robin Boult (Fish) and Andy Ditchfield (DeeExpus) and you suspect something special is afoot.

In The Last Waking Moments has been around two years in gestation and all tracks have been written by Trewavas and Blackwood. It is obvious from the outset that this two years has been well spent as the aural delights reveal themselves one after the other - in turns haunting, infectious, Floydian, intensely melodic - all of which combine, with the odd hiccup, to create a significant piece of work.

Things get underway with 'Dusk', an intense acoustic piece closing with a very Marillionesque solo from Blackwood. This is followed by 'Fracture', again a very dense track sounding very like Polish proggers Riverside.

One of the album's highlights, also released as a single, is next up, 'A Million Miles Away' replete with gossamer-like riff and thoughtful lyrics would, on most albums, be the signature track. Not here though - it's just one of many.

We must mention the hiccups and the worst of these is 'Outerspaced'. What were they thinking of? It would have been left on the cutting room floor of even the worst Hawkwind album - its horribly discordant bass riff overlaid with a semi-screamed vocal is so at odds with everything else it sounds like it must be some sort of contractual obligation.

But there's the rub. It IS so much at odds, that it fits in - it's that blemish that enhances the belief that they knew exactly what they were thinking of.

Normal service resumes with the outstanding 'Spiraling' and continues almost unabated (with the possible exception of the Ozric Tentacles-like 'The Other Other Dimension' - not bad, just different) to the album's jewel in the crown 'The Awakening' - fifteen minutes of ambient prog heaven.

Taken in the round, this is an exceptional progressive rock album assembled by two top musicians at the zenith of their powers. If they do it again, and take some Gaviscon for the hiccups, we could be looking at a magnum opus of iconic status.

*****

Review by Alan Jones

Alan sequences "The Eclectic Mix" on the third Sunday of every month on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, and usually manages to include some prog.

- Get Ready To ROCK! Magazine

Have a close encounter with the prog duo's debut…

Edison's Children came about when Marillion bassist Pete Trewavas met crew member Eric Blackwood on the band's Los Trios Marillos Tour in 2006. They clicked and began writing music together, but with both so busy with the day job it's taken them six years of sporadic recording to complete their debut album. Blackwood's other work as a special effects technician in Hollywood is telling: In The Last Waking Moments… has a cinematic sound and sci-fi theme.
It tells the - possibly metaphorical - story of a man who chases mysterious lights in the sky, is seemingly abducted by aliens and then returned much later, a changed man. Musical and lyrical elements are repeated and developed throughout and the interstellar vibe evokes Pink Floyd, even Hawkwind in parts, yet rarely Marillion. Opener Dusk trails in with stark perfusion and slowly evolves into an insistent, minor-key tune. Blackwood's vocals conveying an already broken heart. Lights shine from the sky in Fracture - a tribal beat kicking in with three-note synth figure that recurs through the album - before Fallout of the 1st Kind draws the character and listener in like a tractor beam.
This is all wrapped up in some beautifully subtle playing and atmospheric programming from both artists. Trewavas contributes odd, ethereal backing vocals to Blackwood's everyman lead, and his lilting acoustic guitar drives A Million Miles Away (I Wish I Had A Time Machine); it's easily the catchiest song on here despite its theme of loss and the low, breathy melody. Outerspaced is a delightfully deranged psych-rock freak-out with a manic, distorted lead vocal from Trewavas ("Welcome to our earth… Knock back a few of these/We'll get intergalactic pissed/Come on, can't we all just get along?"). The Other Other Dimension is one of the most unsettling pieces of music this reviewer's heard for awhile. There's a recurring character called The Doctor, who's obviously up to no good with the protagonist. His voice whispers menacingly throughout a tune that's a mad scientist's lab made music- odd time signatures, dissonant riffs and filtered guitars bubbling like noxious test tubes.
The climactic 15 minute track "The Awakening" Brings all the strands together thrillingly (and features one Steve Hogarth billed as "Town Choir Vox") before the sparse haunting closer Fallout (Of the 4th Kind) appears to drop the character dazed and disoriented back at the top of the album.
Moody, engaging and beautifully executed, In The Last Waking Moments has a musical core strong enough to support such a dramatic sci-fi concept. Edison's Children bear strange fruit, all the sweeter for the wait.
GRANT MOON. - Classic Rock Magazine