Progressive Rock project The Far Cry stretches the wingspan of their creative might as they lean into a deep sense of mission on the vast expanse of new album “Once There Was”. With multi-layered, bold soundscapes, The Far Cry explore a boundless sea of unclaimed and unseen sonic terrain, whilst remaining a band purely focused on who they are and what they do. This is a four piece prog rock collective with a subversive, adventurous and purely art first mission. “Once There Was” does not play it safe by any means.
“Once There Was” takes the listener on an unpredictable and dynamic musical journey with thought provoking lyrics, passionate vocals, shifting tempos and time signatures, ambient interludes, haunting melodies and well crafted and powerful arrangements. The Far Cry captures the spirit of classic 70″s era progressive rock and ushers it into the 21st century. Fans of King Crimson, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis and Gentle Giant will find fresh compositions and untethered prog vision here to enjoy.
With equal parts somber melancholy, vulnerable emotionality and resolute determination, this new release is a soundtrack to our current zeitgeist as much as it sounds classic and timeless.
Apparently, some people just won’t give up on long held goals and aspirations. Jeff Brewer and Robert Hutchinson, co-conspirators behind the inception of what was to become The Far Cry, can vividly recall the musical awakening that occurred in their younger days when The Beatles landed and with all that followed. Soon thereafter, they each were even more deeply moved by the emergence of the Progressive Rock bands of the early 70’s, most notably King Crimson, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis and Gentle Giant.
Jeff and Hutch first crossed paths around 1976 with the formation of a short-lived rock covers band. Common ground occurred later, though not simultaneously, when both were members of Connecticut prog-rock band Holding Pattern, Hutch as co-founder from 1980-83 and, after Hutch left the band, Jeff joined as lead vocalist & percussionist from 1984 to 1993 when the band ceased operations.
Fast forward to 2013 when Hutch purchased a speaker cabinet Jeff had for sale. In the attendant dialogue, the pursuit of the likely impossible was quickly broached and a decision made to chase the dream just one more time. Thus the seeds for The Far Cry were sown.
Unfortunately, due to the ambitious and stylistic nature of the music they were pursuing, connecting with suitable personnel to complete the band lineup was met with recurring difficulty and disappointment.
Eventually, the duo decided to enter the recording studio to get the material up and running. Guitarist Bryan Collin had already been in contact, having answered a Craigslist ad, and was amenable to playing on the recordings. As he did so, he became intrigued and more strongly connected to the music and the band concept.
Certainly his stellar contributions and playing on the “If Only” CD demonstrate that. Bryan Collin was now The Far Cry guitarist.
Still, a highly competent keyboardist was required. Studio owner and master engineer John Bolduc was asked if he knew of any keyboard man who could properly interpret and perform the music he was hearing.
John responded instantaneously: Chris Dabbo. No time was wasted in contacting him. At first, Chris came on as a session man but very quickly demonstrated his impressive skill set as well as a connection to and understanding of the music. All involved were highly enthused and Chris was drafted in as keyboardist for The Far Cry.
The lineup of Hutchinson, Brewer, Collin and Dabbo commenced with writing, rehearsing and recording. Hence, The Far Cry‘s debut CD, “If Only;”was completed and released in July of 2021. With merely an economical level of promotion, “If Only” was very well received and highly validated by critics in the prog-rock community of the U.S., U.K., Europe and Japan. The reviews from that time are shown on their website and will attest to the excitement and very good reception of “If Only.” Website: www.thefarcrygroup.com. Instead of immediately preparing for live performance, the decision was made to focus attention and effort on creating a follow-up CD, the feeling being that producing the next CD would further establish The Far Cry as a fully legitimate neo-prog-rock entity, not just a “one-off.”
However, as in life, the road ahead was met with obstacles. One major blow occurred when Bryan Collin, the guitarist for the entirety of the “If Only” CD, decided to exit the band to pursue his own particular musical interests and projects. Ouch! There’s a tough one: but….a few deep breaths….OK….understood. We thanked Bryan for his high quality contributions and wished him well.
Nonetheless, The Far Cry were now confronted with a gaping hole in their very existence. Their musical style, material and identity required a guitarist, and a very good one at that. The band put out the ads for a new guitarist. The needs and wants given in the ads were honest and straightforward regarding the necessary requirements.
The ads elicited a response. Yes….one. Enter Brendan Kinchla. The Berklee School of Music grad faced the daunting task of learning the material from the first CD as well as taking on and interpreting the new material that was step-by-step being presented that would comprise the next CD, “Once There Was.” He had his hands full, but he didn’t buckle and demonstrated that he was here to stay.
