THE FRAGILE ARMY - THE POLYPHONIC SPREE
On its third album, this “choral rock” collective is as outsize and bombastic as ever — and that’s what we love about it. If the 24-member Spree’s stock in trade is unapologetic overkill that would make Jeff Lynne and Todd Rundgren blush, the troupe’s real virtues are buoyant melodies, dramatic arrangements and a conceptual spirit that, despite all the grandiloquent trappings, boils down to a concise and perfectly accessible message of positivity in the face of dark times. Mantras (”Justify all your phases/Keep the world guessing”) soar in and out of such anthems as “Running Away,” “Younger Yesterday,” “The Championship” and the title track. The Spree — now sporting military coveralls in place of the choir robes — touches on techno for “Light to Follow” and is generally a bit more streamlined in its approach. This is one military exercise we can get behind without reservation. Source: Billboard
