So, ladies and gents, where do our boundaries lie when thinking, talking about, listening to what we call progressive rock? And, who are we to define music by boundaries? Perhaps it is the journey into music that makes it truly progressive. To clarify further on that, please let me guide you through what I have experienced to be a true journey in music. I invite you to the eldest city of the Netherlands, Nijmegen.

Here it all began with a promising debut album called Wait For Evolution back in 2009. Torre Florim, singer and guitarist started a band and made something of an impression, mostly on the alternative circuit, with the songs The Fantastic Journey Of The Underground Man (titles just don’t get more prog these days) and Meet The Devil, both still live favourites. After that they recorded a second album, Machinery, which had a more industrial and very tight sound to it; the band even having the machine that’s on the cover built and used for live purposes.

So now these young Nijmegen lads present their third release. On this album they again prove to be a very tight unit and still dare to be as experimental as ever. Catchy though the album may be, they haven’t lost their way of taking us listeners on a fantastic journey. Jop van Summeren (bass, vocals), Vedran Mircetic (lead guitar), Tim van Delft (drums), Rocco Hueting (percussion, keys, special effects, vocals) and mainman Torre Florim have managed to create a world where junkies, posers, scoundrels, liars and misers rule and still produce a record that sounds positive. As for the title, which might either be read as both ‘Icon’ or ‘I con’; the band stating that both versions are not far from each other in real life. Aren’t we all just about maintaining face whilst struggling or, as the title would have it, conning our way through life?

 

The band set off the album with the aptly named My Bad after which we first get entertained in All Is Dull with its funky basslines. Build That, Buy That is next, Torre appearing to be spurring on a team of horses as the song opens and then suddenly a raving recorder sets in. Not a sight of Ian Anderson nor Andy Latimer, but then again, the use of the instrument is quite otherworldly and not quite what one might expect. When we get to Devil’s Blood, one of the first singles, we get moody sounds which might originate from the more familiar territory of prog. Then there is a very Simple Minds-like guitar part.

What these lads do, is incorporating all kinds of different music into a sound that is very much their own. They just as easily add trap music to their sound, which originates from a mix of hip-hop and dub, as they add crunchy guitars. That is what happens in Refugee. Make Way For The Passenger brings back fond memories of Deep Purple’s Made In Japan as the instrumental part has a slight resemblance to the instrumental break in Space Truckin’.

Queens Of The Stone Age and the Belgian bandDeus are names often used as references for what De Staat sound like but you might just as easily add a bit of Talking Heads and Nick Cave to that plus the sounds of the young Simple Minds and mix that all together. A bold, melodic and experiment driven sound is what you get and still, you wouldn’t have a tag that would do the band justice. If you’re in for something new and the names mentioned are among what you like, just give them a listen. Granted, the album most likely wasn’t made to be considered on this side of prog, yet its sheer diversity and boldly go where no man has gone before approach make it one fine release which holds its very own in proggy areas. An iconic release.