An original  debut release from new talent Dominic Sanderson showing influences from Pink Floyd, King Crimson and Steven Wilson displaying exciting new potential to English Prog Rock.

Release date:  available now from www.dominicsanderson.bandcamp.com

Label:  self released

Format:  digital streaming / download

Dominic  Sanderson is a  burgeoning 21-year-old talent whose home-recorded Progressive Rock.  Discarded Memories has just come to my attention.  What a superb EP to start the New Year with; a new original sound and new ideas

This debut release which has been self-written, recorded, and produced by himself opens and ends with a 2 part piece  Empty Circles And Grains Of Sand. Staccato and soaring guitar notes and crashing guitar chords liven up the first track from a slow ethereal churchy organ opening. The sudden fluctuations from crescendo to calmness which sometimes builds slowly or suddenly and similarly drops, are a strong feature of part 1. Dominic claims King Crimson amongst his influences and that is very evident in both parts. The refrain of “empty circles and grains of sand”  dominate the intro to part 2, but there is so much happening with the keyboards in the background, which builds in volume and comes to the fore once the refrain dies away, before a superb ringing guitar solo thrashes its way to the front. A superb production, which suddenly falls into a dreamy silent conclusion leaving an end of the world feeling. 

The Light Will Come is an optimistic message of hope that appears in a  calm classical guitar instrumental, soothing us like the dawn of  Spring. The Cracks Appear is the track that alerted me to Dominic’s music opens with a lovely prog melody with tingling effects before some crunching chords signal increased dynamics. A choral background dies with his fading cries as the same tingling effects fizzle out into an accomplished  Gilmourish guitar solo. Before the chiming conclusion, listen carefully in the background as there’s so much subtlety there not to be missed. The wild ending is suddenly brought to a shockingly abrupt end as the tinkling returns. Smashed Beyond All Recognition is exactly what it says on the tin: a wonderful searing guitar solo opens before a pounding but controlled cacophony of sound is thrust upon us.

This wonderful EP is littered with mind dropping ebbs and uplifting flows, which in a way reflects our year which has seen hopes dashed after brief lighter moments.

Dominic explains how he  recorded the EP “in response to the first covid lockdown ……….. my second year at uni was cut short and I couldn’t record with my current band.” This is a similar plight of many musicians who have used the separation from fellow artists and plenty of time on their hands to fruitfully fill their time composing and recording solo.

In terms of the end result being worthy of acclaim, Dominic is on a par with more experienced artists. At approximately  30 minutes, which isn’t far off a whole album’s length in the late ’60s/early ’70s and is brilliant value for money.  Sadly we didn’t become aware of its release in September but its inclusion on the PROG magazine sampler is a sign of its merit and I hope we hear more as Dominic’s music develops either solo or with his band.

Listen to Empty Circles And Grains Of Sand (pt 1) here:

Dominic Sanderson online: Facebook / Soundcloud / Instagram / Youtube

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