Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless SleepThe departure of NDV led to two new members of the band: Ted Leonard, formerly of Enchant, joined as the new lead singer and secondary guitarist; and Jimmy Keegan, who had been the band's main touring drummer for years, joined as the full-time drummer. This happened late in 2011, but it would be the spring of 2013 before the album would finally drop, their 11th, titled
Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep.
I'll admit I was a bit apprehensive about this, similar to my reaction when Neal left the band, but once again, I was wrong, this time by even bigger margin. While
Feel Euphoria was a pleasant surprise that I thought was really good,
Brief Noctunes... floored me with how good it was. I was won over pretty quickly.
Not sure if the presence of Leonard was what brought it out, but there is more of a "rock out" vibe at times on this record than on most other Beard albums, and this is evident on the first tracks, "Hiding Out" and "I Know Your Secret," both of which are fantastic tunes. I kind of overlooked both at first, because of how much I liked certain other songs at first, but these won me over not long after.
"A Treasure Abandoned" is the song that grabbed me first; I loved the melodies, the classic proggy intro, and Leonard's vocals made me think, "Okay, they will be just fine." Plus, his voice is different enough from the band's first two singers that instead of it sounding like they tried to pull a Journey and get a guy who sounds just like the previous guy, they found a guy who can sing really well, and the result is the band does sound a bit different. Granted, they are still prog rock at its center, but the vibe and feel is a bit different now, which I am fine with. Bands change, and I think those who get stuck on the fact that it's not the same old Beard need to get a grip and learn to love it or leave it.
Track 4, "Submerged," is a song brought to the band by Ted Leonard, and it's one of their catchiest ever. Heck, they even did a video for it! If I were gonna try to convert someone over to being a Beard fan, this is one of the first songs I would play. It's short enough to not lose their attention, and like I said, it's catchy as heck.
I am always pretty iffy on the songs featuring the Gentle Giant-esque multi-part harmonies, and "Afterthoughts," co-written by Neal Morse, is a big miss for me. It brings back the quirkiness from the Neal era, but it's just a little too corny for my tastes. Pass.
"Something Very Strange" is a terrific song. I gravitate more towards the Sanctified Remix from the bonus track - it's shorter and more concise - but both versions have much to love. And this is a good example of a song they couldn't have done with Neal or NDV, since neither have the power or range to pull off this chorus as well as Leonard, who shows off his vocal chops here.
"Waiting for Me," the album closer, is another fine song. I don't love it as much as most seem to, but I still like it a ton. Alan Morse has a great solo in the middle, and the vocals are mostly good, although Leonard occasionally has this kind of awkward husky tone in his voice, which I notice a few times in this song, but it's not enough to take away from the song at all; it's just an observation. The outro is kind "A Guy Named Sid"-esque, but still a nice way to end the record.
The bonus disc is fantastic. Aside from the aforementioned alternate version of "Something Very Strange," it has one of the best songs from these sessions, "Down a Burning Road." How that song didn't make the regular disc is beyond me. "Postcards from Perdition" is a song that stands out quite a bit to me, too; great instrumental. "Wish I Were Here" and "The Man You're Afraid You Are" are both highly enjoyable as well.
Overall, a great record, and one I have gotten a ton of mileage out of. We Beard fans could breathe again, knowing the band was going to be okay, just like we did back in '03.