Review Summary: Another excellent release of Mother Turtle. It’s an improvement of the debut.
“II” is the second studio album of Mother Turtle that was released in 2016. The line up on the album is Kostas Konstantinidis, Giorgos Theodoropoulos, Babis Prodomidis, Alex Kiourntziadis, George Filopelou and Giorgos Mpalats. The album had also the participation of Alexandra Sieti and Maria Mariadou.
Mother Turtle is a progressive rock band from Thessaloniki in Greece. They were formed in 2011 originally as a jam band, using the moniker Hogweed. In the jam sessions, some solid musical ideas were developed and after a lot of rehearsing the band evolved into proper songs. They decided to change their name to Mother Turtle, sometime in 2012, following the realization that they wanted to create their own music, based on common musical interests. Mother Turtle is influenced by great artists of the genre. Mother Turtle was the wedding of the classic prog with the modern prog. On their Facebook page the band includes some influences of Spock’s Beard, Camel, King Crimson, Porcupine Tree, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Rush, Marillion, Transatlantic, Neal Morse, Pain Of Salvation and even Kansas.
The music of Mother Turtle tries to adapt the different elements of prog rock music into their own music, taking advantage of the artistic freedom that prog rock provides. Out of the loose jams more and more concrete musical ideas developed, which ultimately led to their own pieces. Mother Turtle released five studio albums, till now, their self titled debut album in 2013, their second album “II” in 2016, their third album “Zea Mice” in 2018, their fourth album “Three Sides To Every Story” in 2019 and their fifth album “MT V” in 2022. Their second release is the subject of my review.
So, three years after their impressive homonymous debut, Mother Turtle released their second studio album, simply entitled “II”. The band once again takes over the release, thus indicating the autonomy and determination to achieve their musical vision. Bolder than ever and with more experimentation this time, Mother Turtle shows us a renewed version of their sound, where the heavy and symphonic elements give way to directions that refer more to the jazz “sensitivities” of the Canterbury scene. All musicians now have the time and space to unfold their own talents and improvisational ability and the significant additions to the band composition reinforce this commendable effort. “II” is a big step for the band, in the context of continuous improvement, both synthetic and executive, and could be an album with a timeless value and recognition in the progressive rock scene. Mother Turtle plays inspirational and adventurous prog rock with a rich sound, showing their vision and ambition. That is perfectly perceived by its very first auditions.
“II” has six tracks. The opening “Overture”, despite its short duration and minimalistic development, nicely takes us aback by the repeated multiple vocals that bring to my mind similar moments of Gentle Giant. “Harvest Moon” is really a great track with clear influences of King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator. It also reminds me of discipline, at times. The saxophone and violin operate faultlessly, combined with the theatrical tone of the vocals. This is one of the best tracks I’ve listened to in the last few years. “Ennui” sounds like an atmospheric evocation, an intense emotional moment where the flute and fretless bass make the piece hover. “Walpurgi Flame” is the lengthiest track here. It’s truly an adventurous piece with interesting changes and escalating tensions. The violin and saxophone duo gives a dramatic tone until a pretty delicate melodic “crust” is formed. The female vocals add some sensuality to the piece. “The Tower” comes to remember the terrible memories of September 11th. This is a very beautiful and powerful piece of music where the drumming work shows confidence and comfort linking the changes between the rhythm and musical themes. “The Art Of Ending A Revolution” is a melancholic piece that begins with optimism and the contrast of emotions is identified and alternates with the singing of wind, string and electric guitar, until complete with an exemplary climax at the end.
Conclusion: I think Mother Turtle has all the ingredients to be a great band. I must say that I was very impressed with their second studio album, “II”. In reality, Mother Turtle manage to meet all the expectations, thanks to the maturity, evolution and quality that can distinguish them. Perseverance, passion and extra experience are clearly here. It seems the band has a serious musical project very well structured that can measure the pulse of both, musically and lyrically. “II” is a choice that meets the ambitions of a band that filters out its influences and delivers a set of choreographed, mature and well crafted compositions. “II” has become truly beautiful, sometimes almost fragile, a retroprog album of a special kind. With this album, Mother Turtle proves they master very well the art of not giving up on evolving their music. This is an excellent conceptual album. It’s an improvement over the band’s debut album, recorded three years earlier. Still, I also love their debut. The genre fans should be thrilled by this one. The album gives them a good way.
Music was my first love.
John Miles (Rebel)
