Like most young men who came of age in the mid to late 70s, my Kansas experience is defined by “Carry On Wayward Son” and the Point Of Know Return album: FM-ready rock with a dashes of prog flourishes. Not sure why I didn’t further pursue Kansas with any interest, but maybe the reason is that nothing I heard on the radio from Monolith, Audio-Visions, or Vinyl Confessions really grabbed me. But I was intrigued to see some positive comments regrading their latest album, The Absence Of Presence, so I decided to give it a listen.
This album is, in short, classic Kansas via Porcupine Tree or Dream Theatre or The Pineapple Thief. “Throwing Mountains,” “Circus of Illusion,” and “The Song The River Sang” are all fine songs, but this all seems boilerplate. While the album progresses the sound of Kansas, it stays within the comfortable confines of the groups mentioned earlier. It’s a pretty good listen, and there are certainly worse ways to spend 48 minutes with music.
The album’s nine tracks were interesting and pleasing, but not really memorable or engaging. I wouldn’t turn it off, but I wouldn’t necessarily seek it out again either. I was pleasantly surprised, but…
Sadly, I’m reminded of the message Jesus gives through the apostle John in Revelation 3:15–16: “you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
3 / 5
Kansas / The Absence Of Presence
Inside Out Music (2020)
48 minutes
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