When I first was contacted by Agora Forte, I mistakenly thought they were either a French or Brazilian Progressive Rock band. Some of the finest prog music is coming out of Europe (always has) and South America (sweet, like sugar cane) and so I made an assumption based upon their name. How stereotypical of me and how wrong I was! These guys not only don’t come from either continent, they are creating music from where Mary Tyler Moore tossed her stupid hat- in the northern center of the United States, the Twin Cities! (St. Paul, actually). I gave a few of their Northern U.S. prog songs a listen and then I asked for all the songs on their album Monuments.
Before I go further I must offer an apology to the band. Somehow, the digital gods decided to totally re-shuffle your entire album and I wrote this as I usually do, after several listens, saving the research till last. And at the very end I realized that the track listing does not match the order of songs as I reviewed them and to change the review is as bad as changing the tracks…something is lost…so I leave it to fate that the songs were not reviewed in the order they should be played even though the songs were reviewed in the order they were played. Sorry, guys. I may come back later to fix this.**
Agora Forte begins their album fast out of the gate, right into a solid rock progression and by the time lead singer Joe Marx hits his first note my ears are locked in. What strikes me is how close Agora Forte’s music is to American modern rock. At one point in the song Another Animal, the band drops the tempo and slides into a very cool prog rock progression. Joe Marx begins to sing a familiar-sounding melody and all I can think of is Goo-Goo Dolls!
The second song, Don’t Blow Your Circuit, Joe, begins very upbeat and the progression has pop/rock written all over it. I’m not as happy with this song; it has an 80′s Talking Heads feel about it. Yet I can’t fault it either because it’s good, very good, music.
Just as I am about to skip through to the next track, the band takes a hard left turn in the song and I am transported into an amazingly harsh and totally brilliant progression- and the song flies into another dimension. Yes I almost blew my circuit on this song. Even better, the melody is so fucking righteous that I am jumping up and down yelling… YES…YEAH...Blackfield, Porcupine Tree, and The Pineapple Thief…and I am about to mosh into the speakers from a standing position on the futon when…
…Ghost Town begins as smoothly as the second track ends. When the chorus arrives on The Beatles Abbey Road style platter I’m nearly pissing myself..the heavy guitars thrash out right into something I’d expect from Shadow Gallery- and now Agora Forte is prog metalling with the best of them. The chorus returns and it is so effing awesome, I wish it would last forever…
…but the track ends leaving me stranded on Pain, which is my least favorite track on the album- but not for a lack of energy. Don’t be surprised if 6 months from now I am driving down the highway, screaming the lead vocals in staccato over top of Joe Marx’s voice on the album. Sometimes the song I like the least on the first few listens is my favorite song on my 201st repeat play. For now it isn’t wine, it’s grain alcohol. Gets you drunk faster, but you enjoy it half as much.
The next track is the ballad Reflections and Joe Marx does not appear to have developed a vocal treatment for ballads yet. Some vocalists can sing the softie stuff quite well but others need to turn it up a notch. Joe Marx is one of the others and I like him better that way. Once Marx hits the Paul McCartney level on the volume scale, he’s got the song bloody nailed down (the PMcC volume scale exists! I wouldn’t make this shit up…well, OK I did make it up but damn it Jim, I’m a blogger, not an Engineer).
It’s a cool ballad but I’m gliding through what feels like the weakest part of the album – again I qualify this because there isn’t anything wrong with the music. The arrangement is unique and and even a bit adventurous; especially as it builds towards the climax. (yes, the song is a woman, ok people?) {Sheesh, this burden of being human…}
Which brings us to the The Last Goodbye, simply the finest song on the entire album and truly one of the best songs
of 2011. The song begins with an acoustic guitar solo that is both stylish and bold, and transitions into a vocal melody that would make Roger Waters proud. The hook plays and Joe Marx sings ”this burden of being human” and then Agora Forte drops PT/Floyd harmonies into the song like chocolate at Easter. The Holy Mother of Classic Prog is smiling, oh yeah…this is the shit, she says and THEN…they slam us down like King Crimson in 21st Century Schizoid Man. Go listen to it and tell me I’m wrong. Go ahead and defy the Holy Prog Mother! Because now she’s beaming and I’m…well..answering the phone that is ringing…and I’ve lost my mojo and this paragraph abruptly ends (yes, it was a woman, ok people?).
The Last Goodbye is Pink Floyd, Molly Hatchet (I kid you not), and King Crimson all wrapped up with a kick-ass electric guitar, acoustic guitar, phenomenal bass line, and a Led Zep drumbeat that coalesces with the melody and harmonies into a classic progressive rock song worthy of adulation —> I LOVE this song! I’ve transcended reviewer/blogger and have become, dare I say it? Dare I? YES! A FAN! I AM A FAN OF AGORA FORTE! Ok, back to the review.
The Ten Year Rest of Daniel Blaine is an 11 minute and 55 second exploration of ambient neo-prog and classic progressive rock that first deconstructs the music before sliding into a nice rock progression. This also doesn’t last and before long we are back into deconstruction…or are we? There is something solid underneath, the percussion is hitting on all cylinders and the bass guitar is following right behind. A sweet, distorted, echo-laden lead guitar sweeps the song into the next century and damn, it’s good. It’s so fucking sweet.
I love the almost Southern rock undercurrent that keeps surfacing in Agora Forte’s songs…it just makes their sound meatier, juicier; it carries a wicked sting. This is what American Prog should be. It has a hard rock edge that satisfies my deepest rock & roll urge.
I could go on and on about the remaining tracks, but there is only one, Walk Around the World, and it rocks just like the rest of them. Besides, if I haven’t convinced you that this album is worth having in your collection I might was well go back to serving Java Chip Fraps at you-know-where while Paul McCartney plays over and over at level PMcC-6. You’ve been there. You know it’s true. Now toddle over to their Amazon.com website and buy Agora Forte before I set the Holy Prog Mother’s dogs on your ass.
Biography Source: Facebook Page for Agora Forte
Hometown: Saint Paul, MN
Genres: Rock / Progressive Rock / MetalMembers: JESSE LANG – Guitars, Keyboard, Vocals; TIM HOBSCHEID – Guitars; SETH LEVINE – Bass, Vocals; JOE MARX – Lead Vocals, Guitars, Keyboard; AARON COLE – Drums
AGORA FORTE is a five-piece progressive rock band from the Twin Cities. The band’s original lineup is comprised of local musicians with the shared interest of composing and performing challenging and sometimes unconventional songs. AGORA FORTE draws influence from a wide range of musical styles and bands, including such great and timeless acts as Pink Floyd, Dream Theater, Rush, Opeth, Coheed and Cambria, Porcupine Tree, Tool, Ayreon, Muse, and countless others.
Since its formation, AGORA FORTE has set to work writing, arranging, and recording their own music. This has since culminated in the debut album, Monuments, released in Spring 2011. Presently, one can learn more about the band and preview the album at www.reverbnation.com/agoraforte.
With the completion of their full-length debut Monuments, AGORA FORTE is taking the music contained therein public and bringing a unique mixture of sounds and attitude to the stage. The band looks forward to the unique and exciting challenges that lie ahead as they strive to be not just a progressive rock band, but an ambassador for an often overlooked, mysterious, and rather misunderstood genre of music.
AGORA FORTE "Monuments" **Track Order: 01 - Ghost Town 02 - Another Animal 03 - The Ten Year Rest of Daniel Blaine 04 - Don't Blow Your Circuits, Joe 05 - Pain 06 - Walk Around the World 07 - Reflections 08 - The Last Goodbye
