Washington-based Kevin Dodson is a name you probably may or may not recognise. Vocalist, drummer, lyricist, he’s also done work on scores as an award-winning composer and producer, ranging from networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, Warner Bros, and Buena Vista Television to name a few. He was also the creative force behind progressive rock group Madrigal who unleashed two studio albums; Waiting (1988) and On My Hands (1996).
These two albums are cult favorites among prog fans who are still waiting for the next follow-up. The Madrigal Project is somewhat a spiritual return to the band’s legacy that infuses not just the foundation to keep the genre alive, but continuing where they left off after their second album.
11th Hour is very much an imaginative movie inside your head. Taking nods from Gentle Giant, Yes, Van der Graaf Generator, Tull, Peter Gabriel, and the symphonic wonders of Yes, Dodson is back in business to flow in the music with a battering ram, hitting your stomach with a hardcore punch.
And to be allowed to have guest musicians such as Jane Getter, Adam Holzman, Billy Sherwood, Oliver Wakeman, and Michael Lewis on this album, they weren’t just on this album, they are there to lend Dodson a helping hand to bring the 11th Hour to life in all of its glory.
It’s also a family album as his wife Maureen, who has been there for her husband and taking care of their special needs child, Dodson understands that family is the number one priority including his two daughters who keeps a special place in Dodson’s heart. Family first, music second.
‘A Question of Wait and Matter’ features some heavy guitar riffs in the introduction that speak of not just the spirit of King Crimson’s Larks-era, but fellow French prog maestros Ange from their album By the Sons of Mandrin (Par Les Fils de Mandrin) which was their only English album they released in 1977. Wah-wah grooves, intense percussion work, the synths playing through the scenario, and mysteries setting up the struggles of pondering what will happen next as the weight pulls you into the abyss even more.
‘Canvas’ takes us on a magic carpet ride with breathtaking and exhilarating momentum to bring in even more adventures. There’s some incredible orchestral keyboard work that has a bit of Oliver’s nod to his father’s awesome power he had done between his time working with David Bowie, Strawbs, and Yes.
I guess you could say that the Madrigal project wanted to make their own approach of Close to the Edge. Which is not a bad thing. That’s what prog does. It takes you into these unknown worlds with parallel universes and pushing you to give an understanding on why it makes you go further into the abyss.
‘Breaking August’ is a brutal, synthesised, and electronic take of the swing genre with brutal wah-wah sax improv. Looks like they want to have fun, which they should, taking a nod to not just the swing sounds of jazz, but funk-rock at its best, taking their tip of the hat towards the mother ship of Parliament Funkadelic and Gentle Giant grooving together in a live show, giving the medieval-funk and prog approaches to a standstill.
The gut-wrenching beauty behind ‘Sisters’ deals with the love of Dodson’s two daughters. They are the love of his life. For Kevin, he’s more than just a composer and a musician, but a father figure to watch his girls grow up and be there whenever he can. Not only there’s an acoustic texture, but the sun-warming rise of the mellotron coming over the horizon to start a brand-new day as the work begins to become much, much more relaxed than being exhausted.
With its complexity time changes and storytelling boundaries, The Madrigal Project’s 11th Hour is an album that’ll need repeatable listens to get an understanding on how they can come out swinging by delivering the goods and giving prog listeners a sound that’s beyond your wildest dreams.
