I’ve been following 3rDegree since their last album from 2008, Narrow-Caster. The band even sent me a copy of their 1996 debut Human Interest Story, so having all their studio albums allow me to see the evolution in their sound over the years. In the years from 1996 to 2012, the band evolves more on three albums than most do with more exposure. I do believe that The Long Division can and should be named the pinnacle of their recording careers, so far. My reasoning is simple, I grab The Long Division more times than I do the other two and not only for reviewing purposes but for overall enjoyment.
The line-up for The Long Division is George Dobbs (lead vocals, keyboards), Robert James Pashman (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Patrick Kliesch (guitar, backing vocals), Aaron Nobel (drums) and Eric Pseja (guitar, backing vocals).
After many listens, I found The Long Division to flow a lot better than the other two. Almost in the way a concept album but with proper breaks for each song. From the first track, “You're Fooling Yourselves” (6:53), the listener is treated to accessible yet complex classic sounding progressive & art rock combined with some modernisms while retaining a timeless vibe. The “timelessness” seems to be something missing from most music today. I can honestly say that 10 or 20 years down the line, the music on this album will be as fresh as the day it was recorded.
Every song on this album shines so brightly which makes it difficult to choose any favorites. I’d have to say it should be listened as a collective rather than individual songs. That could be deemed as a cop-out but once you’ve listened to The Long Division for the amount of times I have, you’ll understand my reasoning in my assessment.
The Long Division was on my top favorite releases of 2012 for the sole reason of the timeless factor about it. So BUY this album if you care about real music and not some fabricated noise. It’s an essential purchase and highly recommend especially to fans of progressive, art and classic rock. It’s a return to a time when music really meant something and didn’t have to be a bunch of aggressive guitar chords or slamming drums or screaming vocals.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on January 24th, 2013
