Argos (band)
| Argos | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Retro prog , Canterbury sound |
| founding | 2005 |
| Current occupation | |
| Thomas Klarmann | |
Vocals, keyboard, guitar |
Robert Gozon |
Drums , percussion , backing vocals |
Ulf Jacobs |
guitar |
Rico Florczak (since 2010) |
Keyboard, melodica |
Thilo Brauss (since 2016) |
Argos is a German Canterbury and retro prog band.
history
The band was founded in 2005 by the multi-instrumentalist Thomas Klarmann in Mainz . Together with Robert Gozon, whom he met at a party, and the drummer and composer Ulf Jacobs, he recorded the debut album Argos in 2008 , which has been available worldwide since 2009.
On April 15, 2010, the second studio album, Circles , was released, on which the beginning guest guitarist Rico Florczak can be heard for the first time as a permanent member of the band. At the end of 2012, the third album Cruel Symmetry followed with the same line-up .
Style and reception
Argos plays retro prog inspired by progressive rock of the early 1970s. The band names Canterbury and progressive rock greats such as Genesis , Yes , Caravan , Gentle Giant and Hatfield and the North as influences , but also indie / jazz rock bands such as XTC and Esbjörn Svensson Trio . The album Argos initially met with little positive criticism, as independent elements were only available to a limited extent; especially the singing was often criticized. For example Dennis Egbers wrote:
“The vocals are not only 'not the strong point of the band', they are terrible and after just a few seconds my hand pushes against the switch. Of course it was already the case with Caravan, but I can do that - also and v. a. because of the singing - usually only heard for a few seconds before all my body hair stand up straight. Does someone say 'sacrilege'? I say: amateurish and terrible. Even if you pay homage to the Canterbury heroes, you don't have to go along with every nonsense they have committed. "
With the follow-up album Circles , the Canterbury share was reduced a little and the style developed towards the symphonic retro prog, such as Van der Graaf Generator play, which was largely received positively.
This is how Andreas Schiffmann writes for musikreviews.de:
“'Circles' transfers the familiar with a fresh sound into airy arrangements and relaxed art rock that would once have worked and is still valid today. IQ, JADIS and the less weird representatives of German rock history pass by without melancholy or slowness. "
Argos also received a lot of praise for the other publications. This is how Thomas Kohlruß writes on the Babyblauen Seiten about the album A Seasonal Affair:
Argos create filigree tone poems with dense instrumental webs of soft synth pads, elegant keystrokes, whirring and shimmering guitar parts over a filigree, but quite varied network of rhythms.
Discography
- 2009: Argos
- 2010: Circles
- 2012: Cruel Symmetry
- 2015: A Seasonal Affair
- 2018: Unidentified Dying Objects
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wolfram Ehrhardt: Band history. Baby Blue Pages , accessed June 17, 2010 .
- ↑ a b MySpace profile of the band. Retrieved June 17, 2010 .
- ↑ Hirnfick 2.0: Musik 12/2009 - favorites and analysis. December 6, 2009, accessed on June 17, 2010 : “Musically you are on well-known paths: You can hear a varied blend of retro-prog and Canterbury, with Caravan and Hatfield and the North as influences that caught my eye . While Canterbury's inspiration predominates over long stretches of the album, there are also tracks like Black Cat , which are used by retro-prog bands like The Flower Kings and The Tangent , which are themselves clearly influenced by the Canterbury sound. "
- ↑ Dennis Egbers: Review of "Argos" on the Babyblauen Seiten. November 2, 2009, accessed June 17, 2010 .
- ↑ Baby Blue Prog Reviews: Argos: A Seasonal Affair: Review. Retrieved July 1, 2019 .