{"id":7563,"date":"2019-06-19T19:30:11","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T18:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.progradar.org\/?p=7563"},"modified":"2026-08-21T15:56:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T14:56:35","slug":"review-the-gift-antenna-by-leo-trimming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/progradar.co.uk\/index.php\/2019\/06\/19\/review-the-gift-antenna-by-leo-trimming\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – The Gift – Antenna – by Leo Trimming"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Antenna, <\/em>the diverse fourth album from The Gift <\/strong>signals a significant change in direction and style for this London based band, driven by a fresh and accessible impetus. In a recent interview Mike Morton<\/strong> of The Gift<\/strong> summarised their new album as focusing on the Difficulty of being Human <\/em>, and added that it was about communication missing the mark? <\/em>which he encapsulated in the metaphor Broken Plugs and Sockets. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an ambitious and brave project, leaving behind their\nprevious leanings towards more ornate prog sounds so one has to ask did they\nsucceed in the communication hitting the mark and connecting <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is very clear right from the start is that this is a band that has chosen not to stand still or remain in a comfort zone. We are Connected<\/em> is a striking opening song, with slight echoes of INXS, riding on an insistent guitar riff and threaded throughout with a popping synth backing, indicative of the subject of electronic obsession with social media. Mike Morton<\/strong> sounds angry as he spits out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A myriad of souls, We\nhave abandoned all controls,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naked to the core,\nexposing our emotion<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are connected \u2013 we\nare one \u2013 we are connected <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The songwriter, David Lloyd<\/strong>, explained in the same TPA interview : <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about the way in\nwhich people have sold their soul to social media the way people can be\ndamaged or manipulated without really realising it, just through participating\nin it. It\u2019s got a corrupting side to it. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This opening is important as a cracking introduction to the album but also as a very clear marker that this is The Gift<\/strong> like you\u2019ve never really heard them before, and they have moved a long way from the expansive and mythically influenced previous album Why the Sea is Salt <\/em>. If that album\u2019s lush oil painting like artwork by Mark Buckingham<\/strong> reflected their epic musical canvasses of ornate, multi-layered passages, then Antenna\u2019s<\/em> more angular, Metropolis <\/em> film graphic based artwork by Brian Mitchell is indicative of the new album\u2019s more direct but carefully constructed contemporary songs. For instance, there is an impressively flowing but understated guitar solo by David Lloyd<\/strong> in We are Connected<\/em>, but whereas previously it may have been more lengthy and elaborate, on Antenna<\/em> it is brief but consequently stands out all the more on a song filled with memorable hooks and straightforward lyrics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Gift<\/strong> are blessed with a combination of four songwriters in Mike Morton<\/strong>, David Lloyd<\/strong>, Gabriele Baldocci<\/strong> and Leroy James<\/strong>, who all bring something different to the table. Long Time Dead<\/em> is a song which has appeared occasionally in The Gift\u2019s<\/strong> live set in recent times and this road testing has probably helped hone it into an outstanding song. Song writer Leroy James<\/strong> evokes a Wild West atmosphere with a Spaghetti Western type harmonica intro and then we are transported by atmospheric distorted wah wah guitar sounds. Evocatively played ensemble playing conveys a swagger befitting the feel of the song. Gabriele Baldocci<\/strong> even struts into the musical saloon with a dash of bar room piano. Morton<\/strong> carries the carpe diem no regrets message of the song perfectly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So come now raise your\nhead \u2013 you\u2019re a long time dead<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Love the life you\u2019ve\nled \u2013 you\u2019re a long time dead<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast the following song Snowfall<\/em> exemplifies the differing aspects that characterise The Gift<\/strong>. Over a delicate piano backing which brings to mind images of softly falling snow Morton<\/strong> touchingly sings about a lost relationship. Lyrically and melodically this is simply heart-breaking, and it is imbued with pure emotion and truth. Similarly, the instrumental piece Hand in Hand<\/em>, the title of which echoes a Snowfall<\/em> lyric, is also a thing of lovely subtlety, featuring guitarist Lloyd <\/strong>alongside bassist Stef Dickers<\/strong>, showing his versatility on acoustic guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snowfall<\/em> and Hand in Hand<\/em> bookend the far more angular piece Far Stranger<\/em>, with a staccato, robotic feel appropriate for its subject matter of synthetic humans, with references to Rachel and Roy <\/em> (of the film Bladerunner<\/em> ) and Pinocchio <\/em>. This song does not fully connect for this reviewer \u2013 it feels like a song which The Gift<\/strong> would have expanded upon in previous albums to convey the full story, but to me here it sounds like rather a lot of ideas and narrative squeezed in to a shorter piece. This is disappointing as it\u2019s a fascinating theme, possibly fitting an earlier abandoned idea for the album title about being Almost Human but not quite, <\/em>and the song and theme may have benefited from a more ambitious, expansive setting. On Far Stranger<\/em> it is almost as if The Gift<\/strong> were caught between two stools in their transition from their previous proggier style into a more succinct approach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As if to underline that thought the extended piece Changeling<\/em> is altogether more successful in conveying a narrative as it tells the story of the rise and fall of a politician corrupted by power in three distinct phases, which could easily be separate songs in themselves. This treatment gives the music and narrative time to develop and breath but this is no extravagant, lush 70\u2019s style prog extravaganza. The sparse synth and programmed percussion of opening section A Saviour\u2019s Shoes<\/em> echoes 80\u2019s era Japan (surely a good thing) with a finely judged vocal from Morton<\/strong> introducing a politician starting out with sincere intentions. This fascinating opening descends in to much darker territory on the much more rock oriented The Shadow Behind<\/em> part with Neil Hayman<\/strong> in spectacular form on powerful and precise drumming alongside Dickers <\/strong> deft use of bass in the driving sections or more contemplative passages. Baldocci<\/strong> throws in a great twisting synth solo to convey the insidious effect ambition has upon the politician\u2019s initial integrity. This outstanding piece then takes a definite left turn in the closing Finest Hour<\/em> section which is a pure glam rock stomp with Morton<\/strong>, acting out the fall of the politician in to total corruption, at his most dramatically camp on vocals and Lloyd<\/strong> and James<\/strong> on great form on guitars. The Gift premiered this section as a stand-alone song at the Fusion Festival<\/strong> in March and it went down a storm with the crowd, getting them to their feet. Curiously, it could be argued that this nearly ten minute piece demonstrates that The Gift<\/strong> remain very much in the mainstream Prog world, but trust me, you won\u2019t think that when you hear it. It\u2019s an interesting melding of different musical styles not normally associated with classic rock tropes, skilfully moulded in to a song cycle conveying the changes of the main character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Perhaps as a palate cleanser after such an extended and thematically dark piece The Gift<\/strong> follow it up with the optimistic rock\/pop of Back to Eden<\/em>, which rolls along brightly. This is in stark contrast to When you are old<\/em>, with words by poet W.B Yeats<\/strong>. This slow and sombre piece of reminiscence and regret has hints of Low<\/em> era Bowie<\/strong> \u2013 some may love it\u2019s melancholic atmosphere,  some may find it a rather depressing drone… but one has to wonder about it\u2019s sequencing directly after the remarkably rocking Wild Roses<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The highlight of Antenna<\/em> for this reviewer is definitely Wild Roses<\/em>, which announces itself with Art of Noise like synth effects and percussion before plunging straight in to pure Thin Lizzy<\/strong> territory. Leroy James<\/strong> and David Lloyd<\/strong> really rock out on the guitars and Dickers<\/strong> and Hayman <\/strong>thunder along brilliantly in the rhythm section, whilst Baldocci<\/strong> throws in occasional keyboard stabs and synth runs but the real surprise is Mike Morton\u2019s<\/strong> vocals \u2013 he really throws himself in to a powerful Rock vocal, with more than a little resemblance to Phil Lynott<\/strong>! The Gift<\/strong> truly excel in a live setting and one can only imagine just how much they will rock the audiences when they pull that one out of the drawer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antenna<\/em> concludes appropriately with Closer<\/em> about relationships, which commences with bright jangling guitars over a cool bass line and Hayman<\/strong> in almost funky form on drums in the Where all Roads Divide<\/em> section. However, for this reviewer curiously for an album which focuses so much on connection this is a song which does feel a little disconnected as that opening section quite suddenly jars in to the rocking instrumental Out of Reach<\/em> section with synth and guitar soloing. It almost feels like The Gift<\/strong> felt compelled to pull out some Prog Stops before the end of the album. As a section alone it sounds fine, but it did not flow naturally from the first part. Similarly, after a significant pause the emotional Closer<\/em> finale does not flow on from the previous passage. Nevertheless, as a piece in itself Closer<\/em> impressively builds and builds with delicately picked, almost bluegrass guitar, organ and then a lovely fluid piano. A lyrical soaring guitar solo elevates the piece to even greater heights as Morton<\/strong> proclaims:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If our journeys ever\nsynchronize, Let\u2019s be thankful for whatever, Brings our Universe together<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can be Closer.\nCloser. We can be Closer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this album Closer<\/em> feels ironically a little disjointed but as a live piece it may mature, and the excellent closing section will certainly stir the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Well, as asked earlier, did The Gift<\/strong> succeed in communicating and connecting <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reviewer the answer is a qualified Yes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some truly outstanding pieces on this album, but for me some songs did not quite hit the mark or fully connect. In essence some of the plugs did not seem to quite fit some of the plugs. In truth The Gift<\/strong> were never a full-on ornate Prog band, and each album had more accessible, less musically ambitious and unashamedly catchy pieces alongside their epic forays. However, the clear main direction was down well-trodden progressive rock paths, and with classic songs like The Willows<\/em> they really did it so well. In contrast Antenna<\/em> feels like a band trying to break out of what may have started to feel like a pigeon-holing musical straightjacket. There may also be a sense of liberation for the wide range of song writing talent within the band, which has added a wholly different and fascinating range of musical colours to their spectrum. The great qualities that marked out The Gift<\/strong> previously are still there in the DNA of their material but maybe inevitably this album does have the feel of a Transition album. Sometimes in a transition process older ways of doing things do not always sit comfortably together with new paths. However, that is not<\/strong> a bad thing \u2013 transition means growth and progression in the true sense of the word. The Gift<\/strong> should be commended for having had the balls to significantly change their sound \u2013 as Morton<\/strong> said in a recent interview that change may piss some people off and disappoint <\/em> but that\u2019s just the way it is? <\/em> It will be fascinating to see where they go from here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hope is that their previous fans remember the core of what made The Gift<\/strong> worth following before and remain on board, whilst the undoubted high quality of the different range of largely more accessible songs on this album also justifiably attracts other new fans who like \u2013 well just rock music, whatever the label. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antenna <\/em>sends out a strong signal from The Gift<\/strong> \u2013 they do not stand still so leave your preconceptions at the door, open your minds and explore their changing world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Released 28th June 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Order from Bad Elephant Music here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/thegiftuk.bandcamp.com\/album\/antenna<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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