Chantel McGregor – definitely not blues – embraces her Prog and private sides. We approve.
Release Date: 23rd May 2025
Label: Tis Rock Music Ltd
Format: LP / CD / digital
definitely not blues
“It’s heavy and dark and it introduces elements of prog-rock, which is a form of music I absolutely love…” Forewarned is forearmed for anyone expecting a Blues Rock type extravaganza from Chantel McGregor.
She’s given hints in the past with some of the explorations going back to our first encounter on Lose Yourself back in 2015. The guitar part in the second half of Walk On Land being particularly memorable. Hence, The Healing sees her making what she calls ” a mash-up of dark, grungy heavy rock with my prog influences – the weird time signatures and the Moog.” And, just to clarify, The Healing isn’t blues. For sure – “It’s definitely not blues.”
What The Healing definitely is though is an album that’s brimming with love, loss, grief and heartache. There’s the more obvious clue in the album title and some of the song titles. From the outset, the defiance on display in I Will Breathe makes it clear that these songs are going to not just explore new musical ground, but delve deeply into the McGregor psyche.
the prog connection
Some reviews have mention of the melodies of Anathema and Steven Wilson and three minutes into opening cut I Will Breathe, there’s an instrumental passage that combines the shrill of fizzing guitar and a pumping beat that completely justifies the comparison. A choice opener that also sets an expectation for what’s to come. Is this Chantel getting something off her chest as she sings of the broken hearted liar in the song of the same name? The absence of the Blues is barely missed as a heavier Rock presence, a shedload of hooks and big production provide a more than suitable alternative.
That big production foundation of The Healing gives a mighty weight to the guitar break in Tears before Chantel sings how she’s “holding onto whatever I found I belong to – I know that life won’t break me” in Stand On My Own. A clever choice which is a teaser of a single that could be the gateway track – a little sweeter and seductive. The more atmospheric Echoes sees the Prog influence cutting through with an epic solo.
FURTHER AND BEYOND
Whilst denying the blues and flying freely withher Prog influences, there’s more, that sees a lengthier Truth Will Out bleeding into some brooding funk with electronic influences. Maybe a hint of Prince’s Sign O The Times and a Collins-esque drum fill in the middle section that builds into a thrilling Post Rock shrill blended with a hugely soulful and emotional vocal. The guitar again cuts through with attitude. Definitely not the Blues. Sealing the deal is the title track whose disguise as a power ballad reveals another searing solo and suitably climactic crescendo.
Ultimately though, despite any musical curveballs, The Healing strikes home as a startling and brutally open confessional. Delving into the soul and delivering with soul. As famed Prog rockers Marillion once said, what a brave, brave girl.
Hree’s Stand On My Own:
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