A History of Madness

If you thought prog rock and concept albums were a thing of the past, Thinking Plague is here to prove you wrong. And if you thought prog rock had to be terminally self-indulgent and concept albums a pretentious waste of time, they're here to prove you even more wrong. Sounding something like a Henry Cow for the digital age, on A History of Madness Thinking Plague lays down some of the most rhythmically complex, texturally inventive, and melodically challenging popular music of the last 30 years, and somehow makes it all sound easy and natural. The album's concept has something to do with the Albiginsian crusades of 13th century France, but you won't necessarily figure that out without recourse to the press materials. What you will notice are the almost dodecaphonic melodies on "Consolamentum" and the instrumental "Marching as to War, No. 1," as well as the jagged, Robert Fripp-ish guitar lines on "Lux Lucet" and the gypsy-Celtic swing of "Gúdamy le Máyagot (An Phocainn Theard Deig)." Also standing out are Deborah Perry's gentle but dead-on vocal virtuosity and some fine back-and-forth between accordionist Dave Willey and guest fiddler Jean Harrison. Very highly recommended, especially to fans of Henry Cow, the Art Bears, and Chris Cutler.