five months pass...
Farpoint [USA]
Updated 11/10/03
Discography
First Light (02)
Grace (03)
Reviews
Farpoint's debut release, First Light, has a light, accessable sound; almost the sort of thing you might expect to hear at a Renaissance festival, with lots of acoustic guitar (especially 12-string) and medieval flavors. There are two vocalists who can hardly be more different from each other; Dana Oxendine's clear soprano versus Clark Boone's husky whisky-voice (his voice reminds me of Ritchie Havens' vocals on "How Can I?" and "Icarus Ascending" from Steve Hackett's Please Don't Touch). On First Light, I sometimes find this to be a strength of the band and sometimes the two styles seem to be struggling to work together.
Farpoint seems to draw a lot of inspiration from early, pastoral Yes material; in fact, there's an acoustic guitar section on First Light that encourages me to begin singing "A man conceived a moment's answers to the dream ... staying the flowers daily, sensing all the themes" ("And You and I"), which fits right in with it for awhile before it goes off into its own territory. But there are other influences here as well, including the previously mentioned medieval feel on many songs, with acoustic instruments and flute to the bluesy folk rock of the lengthy, heartfelt but somewhat predictable "To the River", sung by Boone with Oxendine providing backup "ooh's and aah's".
Grace is Farpoint's second CD, and is a wonderful example of how far a band can come in a year. The Yes influences are still there, but muted to the point where there's nothing that really sounds derivative. There's still plenty of acoustic orchestration using pianos and acoustic guitar, but no more medieval flavors. Dana and Clark have really figured out how to sing together without sounding strained - Dana is more relaxed, and Clark has removed some of the "huskiness" from his vocals, making the two blend together much more evenly. The compositions are overall much stronger on Grace ... more progressive and at the same time less self-conscious about "trying to be progressive". In many ways, this is more like a '70's rock album with lots of prog touches than a "Progressive Rock" (note capitals) album. The recording quality and execution in the instrumentals is also noticably better than on First Light. Grace is a far more mature and enjoyable album in every way. One of my highest recommendations for this album is that I've listened to it about five times now, and I like it better each time I hear it. That's the hallmark of good prog rock.
Although it was clear on First Light that Farpoint is a christian band, they didn't smack you around with this in their lyrics. Grace is a lot more overtly christian in its themes, from a depiction of a descent into a dark Hell to the simple statement of faith in the title song, "Grace". Yet, still, I wouldn't call the lyrics "preachy", the distinction here being that they are talking about what they believe rather than threatening me with dire consequences if I don't share their beliefs. Let's just say that they haven't crossed the line where I would find it objectionable or offensive.
My guess would be that many die-hard prog fans would consider First Light to be a bit too lightweight and accessable for them, but it is a nice album of good songs that have progressive touches running throughout. Grace shows the band growing more mature and self-confident. If you like Glass Hammer, you should like Farpoint too, for lyrical content, spiritual orientation and musical stylings. -- Fred Trafton
Farpoint's web site www.farpointband.com
― Bobby Frank, Wednesday, 19 November 2003 07:32 (twenty-two years ago)