''Noise Floor'' is the thirteenth studio album by American

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Spock's Beard Spock's Beard is an American progressive rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1992 by brothers Neal (lead vocals, keyboards, guitar) and Alan Morse (guitars), John Ballard (bass), and Nick D'Virgilio (drums). Ballard was replaced by Dave M ...

. It is the band's first full album of original material to feature original drummer

Nick D'Virgilio Nicholas D'Virgilio (born November 12, 1968), often abbreviated and referred to as NDV, is an American musician, singer, best known as a member of the progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He was also one of two drummers chosen to replace Phil C ...

since '' X'' in 2010, although this time D'Virgilio is only as a session musician. D'Virgilio had previously recorded a new song with the band for the compilation album '' The First Twenty Years'' and a bonus track for the band's previous album '' The Oblivion Particle'', both released in 2015. ''Noise Floor'' was released on 25 May 2018.

Background and recording

In October 2016, drummer

Jimmy Keegan James E. Keegan (born November 3, 1969) is an American drummer and voice actor. He has played with artists such as Santana, as the drummer on the song "Primavera" on Santana's hit album ''Supernatural'' and with John Waite. He was the drummer ...

announced that he had left Spock's Beard in order to pursue other interests and the band's original drummer,

, was drafted in to fulfill concert commitments. In March 2017, the band confirmed that they had begun writing for their next album, with plans to begin recording in May with D'Virgilio as studio drummer. As with their previous three albums, recording and mixing for the then untitled thirteenth album was conducted at The Mouse House in

Altadena, California Altadena () is an unincorporated area, and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, California, Pasadena, it is located approximately from Downtow ...

, with additional drum tracking at

Sweetwater Studios Sweetwater is an American musical instrument retailer. Based in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Sweetwater is the largest online retailer of musical instruments and pro audio equipment in the United States. History Chuck Surack established the company in ...

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

. Mixing was completed by Rich Mouser in February 2018. In March 2018, the album title and release date were revealed. It was also announced that the album would be released with a bonus EP of material from the same recording sessions, titled ''Cutting Room Floor''. It was released on 25 May 2018.

Reception

The album received generally favourable reviews. In his review for Sonic Perspectives, Scott Medina praised Rich Mouser's production and the band members' musicianship, stating that "none of the material here may reach the Top 10 Spock's songs of all time, but they all hover within a good to excellent range". Reviews for ''

Keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

'' magazine and The Prog Report both singled out Ryo Okumoto's contribution as particularly noteworthy.

Track listing

Personnel

Spock's Beard *

Ted Leonard Theodore Michael Leonard (born September 22, 1971) is an American vocalist and guitarist, best known as the lead singer for the progressive rock band Enchant. He has also provided lead vocals for Thought Chamber, Spock's Beard, and Pattern-S ...

– lead vocals *

Alan Morse Alan Morse (born August 22, 1958) is an American guitarist for the progressive rock band Spock's Beard, of which he is the only constant member. He is the brother of co-founder Neal Morse, who left the band in 2002. Morse is married to Kathryn ...

– electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals *

Ryo Okumoto Ryo Okumoto (奥本亮; born May 24, 1959) is a Japanese rock keyboardist, best known for his work with American progressive rock band Spock's Beard. He joined the band in 1996 and has been a member ever since. When singer and keyboardist Neal ...

– keyboards *

Dave Meros Dave Meros (born 8 February 1956), is an American bass guitar player, best known as the bass player for progressive rock band Spock's Beard. Meros has also played or recorded with such artists as Gary Myrick, Bobby Kimball of Toto, Simon Phill ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals Additional musicians *

– drums and percussion, backing vocals *

Eric Gorfain Eric Gorfain is an American violinist and founder of The Section Quartet, a string quartet that plays cover versions of rock songs. He is married to singer-songwriter Sam Phillips, with whom he has toured and recorded. Gorfain studied music at U ...

– violin * Leah Katz – viola *

Richard Dodd Richard Dodd (born April 25, 1965) is an English cellist, recording artist and musician. He has appeared on numerous records beginning from The Three O'Clock's Album Sixteen Tambourines, and spanning different musical genres in Pop, with acts ...

– cello * David Robertson –

English horn The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

Production * Rich Mouser – mastering, mixing

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2018 albums Spock's Beard albums Inside Out Music albums