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Right then, grab yourself a coffee, or a glass of your favourite tipple, ’cause this is going to be a long one…  This has to be my most hotly anticipated album for 2022, following Kaprekar’s Constant’s exceptional musical work of art Depth of Field in 2019. Already fêted as a band that composes “epoch-making masterpiece(s) … that could have been an offspring of Genesis in 1976”, Kaprekar’s Constant have set themselves an exceptionally high bar, particularly having been previously nominated as Best Newcomer in the illustrious Prog Magazine. Have they achieved it again with this year’s The Murder Wall? They sure have!  This is as close as one gets to a symphonic progressive concept album without it being one; that’s a great thing because, let’s face it, concept albums are a bit ’70s, aren’t they? What we have here is an underlying theme of that magnificent mountain, the Eiger. Co-writer and bass player Nick Jefferson explains: “We’d spoken about writing and recording an album inspired by the landscape and the spirit of adventure and heroism of some of the mountaineers who have attempted to climb the North Face.”

FULL REVIEW: https://theprogressiveaspect.net/blog/2022/02/25/kaprekars-constant-the-murder-wall/

"This album is the sound of prog upping its original game; providing food for thought, grabbing buried emotions and, in Kaprekar’s Constant’s case, highlighting social injustices by recounting overlooked past tragedies to show nothing has changed. Truly sounding like nobody else, there should be enough justice to hail it an epoch-making masterpiece."

"Nicholson and Jefferson’s storytelling skills ensure that this album’s vast tracks blend the influence of Van der Graaf Generator, Trespass-era Genesis and Tull with considerable aplomb.

The 21-minute centrepiece, Houdini - King Of Cards, is an album in itself and Dorie Jackson’s beautiful vocals play deliciously off her father’s sax. A reminder that English classic prog is alive with much to say."

"Like so much of this album, Kaprekar’s Constant have shown great musical ability to convey significant stories in often widescreen proportions, but threading throughout the whole album like a stick of rock is their knack for intertwining memorable melodies with hooks, possibly related to the obvious folk roots of some of this band. This engaging approach makes the songs always feel like accessible, human tales filled with insights and emotions. This is not ‘edgy’ or avant garde stuff – it’s just excellently composed and performed material in an unashamedly progressive rock and folk style, which powerfully conjures up images to tell almost forgotten stories. Complementing the imagery of the music is the imaginative artwork of Sean Jefferson and Mick Toole’s excellent sleeve design."

"Kaprekar’s first album, Fate Outsmarts Desire, proved quite an impressive debut. Certainly enough to warrant making a special effort to catch them playing at the 2017 Cropredy Fringe and grab the chance to view David Jackson with two saxophones in his mouth at the same time. The record reminded me (and others) very much of the Big Big Train and Tigermoth Tales version of progressive rock. One that could have been an offspring of Genesis circa 1976 where you could marvel at the stories they can tell in the way they weaved in and out of a musical kaleidoscope where Jackson added his distinctive sounds to a very ‘English’ sounding record."

"This collective belong to those rare art-rock ensembles who don’t feel bound by their chosen genre’s frontiers but bend the borders until restrictions are loose enough to let their fantasies run free, if finely arranged, to most melodic pastures. The band’s sophomore offering is a fine example of such an approach, transfixing the listener with magnificently crafted tunes and telling hypnotic stories firmly rooted in British history – the tales from not so distant nor so recent past that are just as riveting"