Homo Erraticus- Ian Anderson

You know what's been missing in music recently? A concept. A few days ago, as I often do, I was hit by a craving for the intellectual lyricism, technical complexity, and just straight up pretension of progressive rock. This genre, along with a few others, just resonates with me the way other music doesn't. In my listening, I got into a Jethro Tull kick. For the uninitiated, Jethro Tull's music is a little difficult to classify. Celtic folk meets flute infused progressive hard rock meets chamber music? It's not right, but close. Either way, there is no other band like Jethro Tull, except for the solo career of their front man and main song smith, Ian Anderson.

The fictional Gerald Bostock

My favorite album by Jethro Tull is most likely their 1972 magnum opus, Thick as a Brick. I discovered it among my dad's old records, and spent countless hours soaking it in, reading the album's liner notes/ fictional newspaper, and wishing I could play a flute solo that bad ass. Thick as a Brick, a critique of the concept album, is actually one of the best iterations of the format; the lyrics supposedly came from a little boy named Gerald Bostock, whose poem, Thick as a Brick, won a local literary award, but was quickly rescinded due to public outrage about its objectionable content and Bostock's mental instability. In actuality, Ian Anderson wrote every word, but the fictional story made for an amazing concept.

You're probably asking, "what does this have to do with the new album?' Well, this album is actually a loose sequel to Thick as a Brick. Actually, it is a second sequel, with Thick as a Brick 2 being released in 2012, which chronicled the many possible trajectories of Bostock's life. This sequel has a much more complex, but incredibly more interesting premise. After retiring from his career as a politician, the now grown Gerald Bostock wishes to return to writing. After he discovers an unpublished manuscript from a historian from the '20s, he decides to adapt his strange work into lyrics for an album.

The work of this historian was brought on by a malarial fever dream, in which he remembered his past lives, and caught glimpses of the future. He then recorded the experience of his delirium into the manuscript that Bostock discovered years later. Now that's a concept. I haven't even gotten to the music.

Ian Anderson

From the first notes of the intro to the album, 'Doggerland', I knew this album was going to be amazing. Anderson's unique blend of traditional chamber music and folk with his flute virtuosity and progressive rock leanings make for a refreshingly unique and amazing experience. Fans of Jethro Tull will rejoice. The sound of this album is a little more simple compared to some of Tull's more complex pieces, but I feel that this puts more focus on the lyrics, which is definitely to this alum's benefit, as the lyrics are a masterful blend of depth, historical commentary, and witty humor (was that a Walking Dead reference on 'Enter the Uninvited'?) This album traces the course of human history and also warns the listener of the problems the future may hold, such as the rapid urbanization depicted in 'The Browning of the Green'.

This album just did it for me. It is a worthy successor to Thick as a Brick, probably to a greater degree than the previous sequel. Its lofty concept, instrumentation, and powerfully crafted lyrics are so refreshing in the days where you have to dig pretty deep to find some quality music. I'll definitely be listening to this one for a long time. Well done, Little Milton. Your return to writing did not disappoint.

Out of a possible 5 stars, I give this:

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