Chances are good if you’ve explored progressive rock in depth that at some point IQ has come up in the conversation, as the British band has been remarkably consistent over their forty plus year career. Early on they resembled a more 80s centric Genesis, not unlike fellow Brits Marillion, but it only took a few albums before their sound evolved significantly. I personally discovered them through 2004’s Dark Matter, which took a noticeably darker and atmospheric turn while also having some real weight to the instrumentation. Their latest effort Dominion retains much of the playbook the band has established over multiple decades while still shaking things up a bit, resulting in an effort that has plenty for listeners to discover with each time through.
Between regular lengths and bonus disks, some of the more recent albums in IQ’s discography have been a bit daunting for newcomers with just how much there is to dig into. Dominion feels more compact by comparison, as its fifty-three-minute run is still a decent chunk of time but nothing comes off as bloated and everything flows seamlessly from one song to the next. Admittedly things may still seem a bit daunting if you’re new to IQ or a lot of progressive rock in general, as “The Unknown Door” is the group’s longest opener to date at twenty-two minutes but the way they draw you in once again showcases their songwriting chops. “The Unknown Door” begins in a softer, slower fashion with sparser melodies and a sample of Neville Chamberlain’s speech from when Britain entered World War II. It’s a slow burn, but once you approach the five minute mark the keyboards come booming in and the sound gets significantly larger and louder. The way the remaining fifteen minutes or so ebb and flow is classic IQ, as they seamlessly move between these room filling, weightier passages with soaring melodies into more stripped down, intimate ones that have a more haunting atmosphere. “One Of Us” provides a brief acoustic transition before “No Dominion” returns to a fuller sound with lush, warm keyboard melodies and an airier feel. It’s a bit more direct, but does a lot with different layers of melodies and has stuck with me on repeat listens. “Far From Here” is where the group seemed to be heading back towards a Dark Matter type of sound, as things get noticeably heavier and bleaker early on but brighten up by the time “Never Land” takes over to finish things off. Compared to some of the band’s past discography Dominion does take a few times to fully sink in, as not all the hooks are as immediate, but when everything clicks it becomes the type of album you can’t tear yourself away from.
Peter Nicholls’ voice has been one of the defining elements of IQ’s material, to the point that you’ll often find a lot of negative comments about the two albums where he wasn’t in the band. Even forty-four years into the band’s career and twenty years after I first heard him, Nicholls is in perfect form on Dominion. Like the instrumentals, the singing moves from softer and introspective moments to big, booming ones that have a lot of power behind them and this continues to be something that has drawn me to the band’s music. “The Unknown Door” is a great example of this, as early on the singing is a bit airier but as the instrumentals whip up into a frenzy Nicholls absolutely soars and towers above the recording. This back and forth between more subdued, reflective pitches and the more intense, emotive ones works well, and it does feel like things are shaken up from one song to the next in how Nicholls gets there. Where some of the other progressive rock groups have lost some of the range in their vocals four decades in, IQ continues to thrive.
Even at this many decades and albums in, a new IQ release never feels like it’s by the numbers or half-hearted. Dominion doesn’t quite have the same immediate hook as some of their best, but after a few times through it had a similar spark that kept me coming back and reminded me why they are still one of the better active progressive rock bands around. Some elements are familiar, but the way things flow and the transitions between sparser melodies and big, booming prog have gotten meaningful tweaks. The band indicated in recent interviews that there’s more material already close to complete from these same sessions, so it shouldn’t be nearly as long of a wait to hear what else IQ has for us in their current incarnation. Dominion is available from Giant Electric Pea.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg