Progression Magazine reviews ‘Before, During And After The Dandelion Years, Through To Deeply Vale And Beyond’

It appears that Tractor never really went away. With the original two members joined by a few guests on some tracks (note: Chris Hewitt adds, these are actually band members in the main - not guests!] Tractor has carried on maintaining that swinging prog-tinged 60's motif. It's coupled with some modernisms to make the sound at once dated [though not out of date] and contemporary. Influences are quite varied. For example, 'Bravado' invokes Traffic circa "The Low Spart Of High Heeled Boys", as well as The Move and perhaps even Electric Light Orchestra. That is before segueing into "Circuits Drawn On A Cigerette Packet" which functions like a long false ending a-la "Hey Jude" but is altogether more cosmic. "Jester", on the other hand, is a kind of space-prog nugget with some heavy distorted guitar, fat organ and vocals that hint at both Geddy Lee and Ozzy Osbourne, with an overall effect that might recall Hawkwind. And then there's "Steve's Hungarian Novel" which is part ambient music, part space soundscape, part third world percussion and part electric guitar fantasy. There's also folk-rock acoustic ballads, metallic headbangers, Beatlesque production numbers and more on this eclectic and quite successful throwback to a by goneby era with an eye to the future. These guys belong in the next Terra Stock Festival.

Dean Suzuki, Progression Magazine album reviews

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