iamthemorning - The Bell (2018-2019)

New album from iamthemorning The Bell is being released on August 2nd.

I enjoyed Lighthouse from 2016, and it won a lot of "Prog" awards or awards/recognition from many end-of-year lists.

And I ordered the Vinyl.

The truth is though, I only listened to it a handful of times, and now with the time passing, I still lean towards the previous record Belighted over it.

I guess we'll see, I never got around to hearing the recorded-live (outdoors with no audience, ala Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii) album Ocean Sounds from 2018, but it included "Blue Sea" which is shown below.

PREORDERS Link

The Bell - iamthemorning’s 2019 studio album - delivers a contemporary fusion of Rock, Classical and Folk influences.

Inspired by 19th Century song cycles - a style established by Schubert - the album cohesively tells 10 individual stories of pain caused by human cruelty. The lyrical imagery draws on themes from Victorian England's art and culture, with its prevalent fixation with death.

The artwork, created by Constantine Nagishkin, portrays the once popular 'coffin bell' used as an alert system to indicate that a person had been mistakenly buried alive (a terrible phobia commonly held by Victorians). 

The engineering and mastering was handled by Vlad Avy, and recorded in March 2019 across Russia, the UK and Canada in several studios: Mosfilm in Moscow; Lendoc and Red Wave in St Petersburg; Noatune in London; The Studio at Sunbeams, Penrith; and Union Sound Company in Toronto.




1. Freak Show [7:09]
2. Sleeping Beauty [3:42]
3. Blue Sea [3:08]
4. Black And Blue [3:58]
5. Six Feet [3:56]
6. Ghost Of A Story [3:58]
7. Song Of Psyche [3:20]
8. Lillies [4:28]
9. Salute [7:27]
10. The Bell [5:04]

iamthemorning - Lighthouse (2015-2016)

3/1/16 1:54PM
1st track "Chalk and Coal" ..haven't listened yet, but should later today.



1/28/16 10:13PM
This is the new/upcoming album from Russian modern-classical influenced prog duo iamthemorning.
I really enjoyed Belighted from 2014 and the older records after finally being won over by their sound.

Gavin Harrison, Colin Edwin and KScope labelmate Marius Duda among the guests, adds curiosity.

Release date is April 1st. 




1. I Came Before the Water (pt. I) [1:41]
2. Too Many Years [5:09]
3. Clear Clearer [4:35]
4. Sleeping Pills [3:43]
5. Libretto Horror [2:13]
6. Lighthouse (feat. Mariusz Duda) [6:13]
7. Harmony [5:18]
8. Matches [4:18]
9. Belighted [3:26]
10. Chalk And Coal [4:56]
11. I Came Before the Water (pt. II) [2:56]
12. Post Scriptum [2:43]

Vinyl Preorder
CD Preorder

Featuring guests Gavin Harrison, Colin Edwin and Mariusz Duda (Riverside, Luantic Soul) and engineered/mixed by Marcel Van Limbeek (Tori Amos), Lighthouse is the 2016 album from Russian Post-Progressive duo iamthemorning. 

Rich and eclectic, Ligthouse possesses elements of Classical music, Canterbury Prog, northern Folk, Jazz and Ambient music. 

Recorded across London, Moscow and St Petersburg, the core instrument of the band, the grand piano, was recorded in Mosfilm Studios Moscow, the largest and oldest studios in Russia. Founded in 1920, Mosfilm is renowned for recording orchestras for soundtracks for the most famous Soviet-era films, including works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein. 

Lighthouse chronicles the progression of mental illness. The album takes the listener through the stages of breakdown via a central character - her attempts to fight it, temporal remission leading to a final collapse and has been inspired by the works and lives of Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath. 

The album artwork for Lighthouse was created by watercolour artist and long-term collaborator, Constantine Nagishkin. 


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Dream the Electric Sleep - Heretics (2013-2014)

1. Heretics 04:50
2. Elizabeth 08:22
3. Utopic 06:38
4. To Love Is To Leave 08:01
5. The Name You Fear 06:09
6. It Must Taste Good 08:31
7. I Know What You Are 06:42
8. Fist To Face 04:15
9. Lost Our Faith 02:05
10. How Long We Wait 09:28
11. Ashes Fall 08:07

I'm again not going to go into great detail as this is another case of a record/band I slept on this past Season, but knew about, and didn't finally give the attention it probably deserved until now. And I still need to give it more time, of course, but I will only add the vague amounts of observations about it in this initial posting. Maybe an edit coming later?..I know how I habitually do that.

But this band from Lexington, KY and their new album Heretics is definitely a nice blend of modern progressive rock, some retro or classic rock, and post rock.

I did read a fair amount about them among progressive rock forums and rateyourmusic.com this past season, which is how I even knew and became curious about them. I recall 1 or 2 reviews saying there was a lot of good moments on this album, but it was a bit lengthly. Which I wouldn't disagree with, but I don't find it drags as much as I suspected it would.

The singer, sounds like a few different singers I enjoy, but like the singer from Grimus, he sounds probably most like Jonah from The Velvet Teen and maybe even more, Evan Konrad of Bed of Stars and whose sung with Neverending White Lights.

Favorites: probably the track "Elizabeth" stands out the most. Rather epic and a climax that really works well.

But I'll confess, it'll end up the hopefully soon to come Season Ending Countdown, but definitely higher than I would have put it a week ago. I feel bad though, like with iamthemorning's album, I slept on it all season, and thus I didn't get to experience it during this/its season of release, but so be it.. As I said aboiut Belighted, definitely better late than never.

Also given they are from Kentucky, I wonder if they ever do any touring, even in the Mid/Upper Midwest? because seeing them live might be a little more realistic than seeing iamthemorning sadly.

iamthemorning - Belighted (2013-2014)

1. Intermission IX 01:20
2. The Howler 03:57
3. To Human Misery 04:18
4. Intermission X 00:53
5. Romance 03:01
6. The Simple Story 03:30
7. Intermission XI 01:21
8. 5/4 03:50
9. Crowded Corridors 08:44
10. Gerda 04:52
11. Os Lunatum 04:31
12. Intermission XII 02:36
13. K. O. S. 06:06
14. Reprise Of Light/No Light 05:16
15. Intermission XIII 00:58

I'd like to write an extensively detailed review about this band and album, but I can't promise that. But I do want to post something, however short or not this is.

I recall hearing about iamthemorning at least a year ago or more, but don't even recall if I checked any of their music out. But this past Season, this album received a fair amount of buzz among progressive rock fans. That and I recall it was per the KScope Podcast and them announcing the signing to KScope sometime in the last year, which brought their name to me.

I eventually checked a little of this album out, and kind of forgot about them. But then I think it was around the time I checked out Marketa Irglova's new LP Muna, I also finally gave this whole record a go. And I remember liking it, but also thinking people were overhyping it a bit. And given the receny, thinking Muna was similar but better. However, now I'm not so sure.

But in going through the end of Season records, I gave it another shot the other day and I must say, I am a fair amount more into it and the band.

What are they like? they use very tasteful string and other chamber or classical arrangements along with very clean, delicate female vocals. Which on paper is nice, but I suppose it is how they are written/composed which stand out. The dynamics, crescendos, twists and turns at points. They even use samples on the 2nd track "The Howler" which is from an episode of  Alfred Hitchcock Presents titled "Human Interest Story"(by Googling "Howard Wilcox" an "TV Episode" reveals it).

This album and band combine very lush arranged songs that segue very well with the interludes or "Intermissions."

I feel bad I slept on this album and band this year, but better late than never. It's hardly the 1st nor last time this kind of late/pre-end-of-Season post changes with review/revisiting of an album I was not as high on earlier in the Season.

iamthemorning I guess are just a duo of Gleb Kolyadin & Marjana Semkina. From St.Petersburg, which sadly is quite a ways away, to hope for a tour of the US. But who knows, maybe they could open for KScope labelmates Steven Wilson or Anathema at some point in North America. But until then, enjoying this record and their previous work will have to do.

Favorite tracks: 5/4, Gerda, K.O.S. Os Lunatum, The Howler





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