Van Der Graaf Generator-Present (2005)

After Van Der Graaf Generator disbanded in the late seventies, all the members (Peter Hammill, Hugo Banton, David Jackson, and Guy Evans) remained in regular contact, working together on various projects and performing throughout the 1990s. Finally, in mid-2004, they decided to revive the band and began composing new material. A year later, they released their first album in twenty-five years, "Present", a work that, in some ways, harks back to the days of the legendary "Pawn Hearts", with a more modern and updated sound. Released as a double album, the record opens with ambient music adorned with cymbals and flute, before welcoming Peter Hammill's powerful vocals. The track sounds like it could have been lifted from any of their seventies albums, showcasing the band's classic, high-intensity sound. Despite not reaching the intensity of the previous "Nutter Alert", it follows a similar musical pattern, while the fascinating "Boleas Panic", an amazing instrumental written by David Jackson, the melodic and dark "On The Beach" or the avant-garde "Abandon Ship", are the prelude to a second disc where the challenging improvisations lead us through cathartic and inaccessible paths, with pieces that are truly raw and difficult to digest on a first listen.