Review Summary: “We are all from the fire and must return to it at sometime. It is the manner of our passing rather than the fact of it which consumes my curiosity.”
At a time when punk rock was the hot new trend in Britain, progressive rock was usually shunned for being associated with the upper class, which heavily contrasted with the lower, working class that populated punk. One of the few exceptions to this was The Enid, who were known for attracting crowds from all walks of life, even those of the punk persuasion, with their headstrong, no-nonsense attitude while putting on a great show that allowed for the band to amass a massive cult following. With their debut album
In The Region of The Summer Stars, as well as their sophomore LP
Aerie Faerie Nonsense, the band had support throughout England despite mediocre sales that did not exactly please the heads over on at EMI.
Likewise with
In The Region of the Summer Stars, this album was also conceptual, straight down to the album jacket. Bestowed upon the cover of the album was the image of a woman submerged in water with headphones made of conches, aiming to reference to the tale of Sir Arnold Bax’s
”The Garden of Fand”.
At a concise 36 minute run-time,
Aerie Faerie Nonsense showcases a band that was still growing as a unit, but was far more “tight” than on their previous effort. Unlike the past year’s album, this focuses more on the classical elements that were teased on
Region, further delving into the realms of such classical composers like Rachmaninov and Mahler, leaving very little room for more rock-based pieces (with the exception of
”Childe Roland”, directly inspired by the Robert Browning tale
” Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”). The classical influences take helm from the very start with an elegant prelude that bursts into the grand, yet rambunctious
”Mayday Galliard”, a very synth/percussion-heavy track that hinted at the sound of the music that was yet to come. Other pieces such as the dainty, gentle
”Ondine” and guitar-driven
”Childe Roland” both use dynamics to their advantage, yet again showing off the compositional abilities of the band. The centerpiece of this particular album however, is the 17 minute piece
”Fand”, influenced by a number of works (Bax’s poem of the same name; Browning’s
”Childe Roland”, and the Rachmaninov piece
”Isle of the Dead”). These inspirations united into this one singular track, with guitarist Francis Lickerish even writing a poem to accompany the album upon release (which was rejected by EMI), detailing the tale of Fand.
”Fand” itself takes the various ideas used on previous tracks, such as heavy use of dynamics, percussion and motifs, and puts them to spectacular use in its two parts. While the first half goes through the motions and goes from somber to bright and rowdy in an instant (depicting Roland being seduced by Fand, and his subsequent response to her love), the latter half goes for a more ethereal finish, directly aiming on portraying the melancholy Fand faces in allowing Roland to go back home to his own life, as well as her redemption in the dying moments of the piece. While being celebrated as one of The Enid’s greatest achievements,
”Fand” is more of a grower than anything else. The slow burn of the piece leaves the listener no choice but to be patient with it, but is quite rewarding when it does finally “click”.
Even with new trends taking hold, The Enid managed to somehow make it out unscathed with their classical aesthetic whilst denying any connections with the progressive rock genre, preferring to be classified strictly as “progressive music”. With
Aerie Faerie Nonsense, the term truly has meaning, further using classical elements to progress music as a whole, even if it went largely ignored outside their homeland. Despite not being as gripping with its concept, the album was a welcome change in sound, not only showing the band had some more tricks up their sleeves, but were still developing as a unit.
