The days of prime prog rock, from early to mid-seventies, are long gone, and the genre has changed and morphed, incorporating elements of other genres and trying not to be fixated on just showing how a band (or a solo musician) are technically adept. Meaning, trying to bring in more substance along with great technique(s).
Fitting quite easily into this renovated description of prog rock is The Quality of Mercury, aka Pennsylvania-based artist Jeremiah Rouse, who handles everything – from instruments and vocals to production, engineering and releasing his albums. That is, two so far, his debut Transmission, and his latest, Voyager.
Rouse, pick up on the space side of both late psychedelia and prime prog rock instrumental excellence, adding a heavy dose of, well, heavy (metal) rock, and the cinematic style guitar and melody creations he might have pulled from the likes of Big Country (he does dub himself as a shoegaze band).
It could all have turned out a bit messy on the heavy side and too ambitious and overbearing, but Rouse is able to slip in enough good melody lines with his deeply set vocals and has guitar touches that are not just technically good but are set at the right place at the right time in his songs. His other instrumental and production skills are in no way lagging behind, making his efforts work in all the right places. Rouse is not only keeping prog rock alive, but proves that the genre still has some good steam in it.
