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A low key progressive rock superduo, Steve Hogarth (singer for Marillion) and Richard Barbieri (keyboardist for Porcupine Tree, ex-member of Japan) make music informed, but not defined, by their day jobs on Not the Weapon But the Hand. Barbieri, who’s always been more of soundscaper and atmosphere builder than traditional keyboard player, uses his synths and electronics to paint wispy, free-floating backdrops that drift (“Naked”) and drive (“Crack”) in equal measure. Former XTC guitar Dave Gregory, drummers Arran Ahmun and Chris Maitland and veteran bassist Danny Thompson contribute to the enigmatic mist. Hogarth responds with lyrics and vocals that border on desperate, as if he stayed up all night trying to write a love letter and only put pen to paper after fatigue and coffee overload had set in. “I’m a cat with a dog inside/Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” may scan rushed and uninspired, but up against the ambient psychedelia of “A Cat With Seven Souls,” it makes sense.
There’s a definite sense of unbalance to Hogarth’s narrators. “I’m gonna love you ‘til you crack,” he cries on the roiling “Crack,” while he softly concludes the femme fatale tale “Your Beautiful Face” with “The world’s a safer place/Without your beautiful face.” Don’t call the men in the white coats just yet, however – Hogarth asserts “You threw me crumbs and I survived” on the Talk Talk homage “Lifting the Lid,” and he also insists that “Only Love Will Make You Free.” Hauled to the edge of the abyss but not over it, Not the Weapon But the Hand deftly navigates the precarious spot between creepy and beautiful.
