Big Big Train
Common Ground
(English Electric)
9/10
By Decibel Report

With its epic musical footprint and nimble sureness of touch, this album of seductive topical and historical themed songs, richly rendered by a high calibre of musicianship, dispels any prevailing misconceptions of this resurgent genre of progressive music with an invigorating suppleness of musical stylings and execution that is a constant throughout. The joyful, upbeat, major key vibe of Strange Times, with cascades of strident piano by Rikard Sjoblom and a blistering solo by new touring guitarist Dave Foster, heralds in an album for our times with this song’s insightful comment piece set to an impressive intellectual level of musicianship. As much continues on All The Love We Can Give’s dual vocal narratives, Longdon’s low register contrasting with D’Virgilio’s higher, and intricate instrumental interplay that, like the rest of this album’s monumental songs, takes the ear on a magical journey through a sonic sphere of BBT’s singular inventions.

Delving into their historical leanings, the Gregory Spawton composed Black With Ink concerns itself with libraries and the loss of knowledge and cultural destruction and is freighted with exquisite keyboard, bass and percussion. The instrumental centrepiece of this musical exhibition is undoubtedly the Nick D’Virgilio penned Apollo where Dave Desmond’s brass ensemble makes a resounding return to the ranks on this masterful, progressive showpiece. The brass also on album closer Endnotes reminds of the Home Service at its finest. Both Dandelion Clock and Headwaters provide a quieter, enchanting shade from the searing compositional heat of tracks making up this radiant release.

For a band that has been creating unique musical landscapes over the past three decades, Big Big Train is firmly in the vanguard of progressive music’s current popularity with a fine run of recent releases. Common Ground’s title track, just like the whole album, is a remarkable milestone recording whose overarching melody and theme slots easily into the sublime tale of the tape of this much-loved group. So, how apt that they should title a song Atlantic Cable given the torrent of progressive influences burbling beneath this recording's graceful surface of sound. Manifestly sublime and knowledgeable in crafting utopian elements of this emerald isles’ history into song and verse, David Longdon and chums steam ahead on this telling of the first telegraph cables laid down on the ocean floor to enable communication and togetherness between continents. Brunel’s, ref: Underfall Yard, Great Eastern ship is also venerated here in part three of this song as superb vocal harmonies and synth washes over the passages of music as if Neptune himself is raving along to this epic beauty as the band hold the line with the strength of togetherness.

Magic seeps out of every groove on this record. Having lost stalwart members Dave Gregory, Rachel Hall, and Danny Manners, this regrouping with Dave Foster, Carly Bryant, and Aiden O’Rourke lending their individual wizardly talents makes for a seamless transition. All players are afforded many individual moments to shine under the warm glow of this collective’s guiding light.

Big Big Train make albums that are seemingly handed down from the gods like artful tablets of shimmering stone. Eccentric and entrancing, Big Big Train also make music as loveable as themselves which they continue on this captivating progression of their story in sound that their ever-growing fan base will love to distraction.