20th July 2008 - Music In Belgium - original review in French (Reviewer: Eric Piettre)
Progressive amateurs, we have here a work of very great quality offered to us by Thieves' Kitchen. This is an English group from Oxford, with its fourth album entitled "The Water Road". Thieves' Kitchen reminds us all at the same time of Magenta, Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, Spock's Beard, Frank Zappa, ELP... the line up of the group is the same one as that for the preceding album except for a change on the keyboards, since Wolfgang Kindl, a member since 1999 who played on "Shibboleth" (2003), left the group and was replaced by Thomas Johnson, previously in Anglagard no less. This gave the group the opportunity to invite Anna Holmgren, flautist and saxophonist of Anglagard, to play flute on the new album. Two other guests are also present: Stina Pettersson who presides over the cello, and Paul Beecham, with the soprano saxophone and oboe. The singer Amy Darby also adds clarinet and harmonica. This instrumental variety is put to much use by these high quality musicians and covers eight compositions of a very high standard which combine to make this album a must.

Whereas the first two albums ("Head" and "Argot") from this group drew their inspiration from Genesis and the third ("Shibboleth") teased out quality jazz rock, "The Water Road" clearly develops a more personal progressive neo and symphonic line, and the arrival of Thomas Johnson obviously fits in well there, largely writing and co-writing the album along with Mercy and Darby. Folky and jazzy passages and sometimes even fusion can also be found from time to time on this album. In addition, the playing of Phil Mercy and Thomas Johnson combine in a masterly way. With eight pieces giving a total duration of more than 73 minutes, Thieves' Kitchen spoil us. "The Long Fianchetto", which lasts about 21 minutes, opens the album, with a very delicate intro on the piano (which is not unlike the "Gymnopédie" of Eric Satie), then starts calmly by adding subtle crescendos on 3 levels before the splendid crystalline voice of Amy Darby intervenes around the 7th minute, and how! The instrumental parts of course have a good share in this long piece: the guitar of Phil Mercy is incisive without being aggressive, whether it be electric or acoustic, the bass hums, the drums could not be more judiciously played and the keyboards are quite simply divine. Pure happiness with the services of such fine melody lines.

"Returglas" is an instrumental of Johnson's and Anglagard is discreetly brought to mind. Amy Darby sings again on "Chameleon" with jazzy intonations, and one cannot prevent oneself from thinking sometimes of Elfonia, the excellent Mexican experimental prog metal band in which the fantastic singer Marcela Bovio officiated, later in Stream Of Passion and Paved. There are even moments of some similarities between "The Water Road" and "The Sonic Landscape" of Elfonia, produced in 2005 and also including a track entitled "Chameleon". Amy Darby also introduces Theremin here, one of the oldest electronic musical instruments (1919).

The fourth track "Om Tare" is stronger and even muscular. The guitar of Phil Mercy is played hard. Special mention for the groove to the excellent bass player Andy Bonham, one of whose influences is Gary Thain, the extraordinary bass player of Uriah Heep in the '70s (died in 1975 shortly after an electrocution on stage). The four other compositions are in the same vein: complex, melodious, deep, without any slack periods or free space, leaving the lion's share to the instrumentation which is magnified by the splendid, faultless voice of Amy Darby. "Tacenda for You" is a calmer piece and "When the Moon Is In The River Of Heaven" more atmospheric. "Plaint", clocking in at 2' 35, precedes the final piece "The Water Road" which closes this work in a good manner launched by a superb intro where flute, cello and oboes all participate and which allows Paul Beecham to show off his knowledge. You will have gathered that no composition is weak and that each one of them is exploited perfectly, with great feeling and a high level of virtuosity which is necessary for the execution of such music. An ambitious work, not always accessible, but impossible to avoid in 2008, undoubtedly. Essential in the collection of any enlightened music lover.

14th July 2008 - Gnosis (Reviewer: Eddie Lascu)
Everyone was curious to see if the innovative rock band can match and even surpass their highly acclaimed previous studio effort. The expectations were met, that is what I think. In addition to the five regular members: Amy Darby (vocals and percussion), Phil Mercy (guitars), Andy Bonham (bass), Mark Robotham (drums) and Thomas Johnson (keyboards) the album features a few guests, most notable being Anna Holmgren (flute). Holmgren is also a former member of Anglagard. She appears on 6 or the 8 songs, so she can be considered almost a full member. Stina Petterson (cello), Paul Beecham (oboe and saxophones) and Mattias Olsson (loops - third member of Anglagard that appears on this record) are completing the list of guests. The Anglagard connection goes even further as Johnson has recorded some parts of the album in Mattias Olsson's studio in Stockholm. Phil Mercy, Amy Darby and Thomas Johnson have written the music with Darby contributing some very mature lyrics. Apparently, there has been a creational match made in heaven between Mercy and Johnson.

With so many Anglagard alumni involved here, one legit question would be whether the Swedish band has reformed under a different moniker. Well, yes and no. There is an undeniable Anglagard vibe to the music, more melancholic than dramatic. Most likely is Johnson's Mellotron inundating the album that contributes to that overall feeling. However, the music is not as dark and somber as Anglagard. What sets Thieves' Kitchen apart though is Phil Mercy's ability to leave his very original mark. Mercy is one formidable musician, not because he plays in a flashy way, but because his guitar leads most of the songs. Finally, Amy Darby vocals complete the originality of the band. She sounds like Annie Haslam with a lower-tonality voice but displaying the angular inflections of Bjork. Guaranteed to be love at first hearing.

Things get started majestically by "The Long Fianchetto", an epic 24-minute track that opens with a moody piano, but quickly switches to a more dynamic line that builds-up in intensity. Cello over Mellotron, with flute and wonderful guitar all mixed together could give you a slight image of the harmonic complexity that never overwhelms the listener. The rich, pastoral textures are often replaced by frantic fusion passages and the cycle continues without repeating itself. Next is "Returglas", one of the shorter songs. Anna Holmgren really shines here, playing some inspiring flute. This could be considered the closest tune to what Anglagard used to play if it weren't for an interpretation of a Balkan folk dance. Listen to Mercy's guitar solo and you will understand why I think he's a helluva player.

Each song has long symphonic stretches conveying a large spectrum of emotions. They can be either introspective as on "Chameleon", highly energetic as on "Om Tare", a song with lyrics in Sanskrit or delicate like those on both "Tacenda For You" and "Plaint", a song where Darby plays the Clàrsach, a Gaelic harp.

The album is closed by the title track, the second song in length. Carried on by a flute-oboe duet between Holmgren and Beecham, with Petterson's cello as a background, the song builds momentum for a great finale led by Mercy's soaring guitar.

"The Water Road" is highly recommended to everyone that likes progressive rock with a touchy feeling. I count myself among those who love a lot of atmospheric melody in the music. This is not boring ambient, but an album of entertaining intricate music that will end up in everyone's top ten for 2008.

6th July 2008 - ProgArchives.com (Reviewer: Assaf Vestin)
**** (fours stars) A Beautiful Road

The Water Road, the 4th album by Thieves' Kitchen and the second one I get to listen to after Argot, is a beautiful album with fantastic crystal clear sound to it, making it clear the amount of work put into it. I'll quote a short text from the band's website to illustrate this point: "Meticulous attention to detail has been evident at all stages of the making of this album, and the mixing and mastering processes were no different. In particular, listeners will find that the album has been mastered to preserve the dynamics in the performances and compositions, something that we're seeing shamefully less and less of in these days of 'brickwall limiting'." All I can add to this is that the album sound lucid and clear, with all the instruments being heard well in the mix and that adds a lot to the listening experience which is already highly enjoyable due to the music itself. They also wisely incorporate other instruments such as flutes (one of them played by another former Anglagard member, Anna Holmgren), a saxophone and an oboe. Those serve to add to the already existing rich sound of this album.

The opener, 'The Long Fianchetto' is a fabulous dream-like sounding piece with some tougher sounding guitars and superb sounding keyboards performed by Anglagard's keyboardist Thomas Johnson (there are occasional appearances of his "Anglagardian" sounding days here). The tune is appeasing even when becoming more dynamic and loud (though never too much for me); the opening segment lasts for about 7 minutes until the blissful voice of Amy Darby starts singing. Her voice is perfectly suited for this magnificent music, perfectly blending with all the instruments creating heavenly harmonies that are pure joy. The keyboards create an ethereal soundscape, a mesmerizing and delicate accompaniment for the melody to roam quietly with. However, not everything is going so peacefully; there is some energy injected into this water road, as the guitar and keyboards collaborate to create a loud and faster part, augmented by the efficient bass playing. This balances out very well the preceding part and all in all you get an equilibrated piece that goes back and forth between these pieces of the road. This song alone makes it worth getting the album; but it's by no means the only song to give this impression.

The album has a distinct sound to it, with variations here and there in the form of, for example, Returglas which has a distinctly folk/eastern-Eurpoean rhythmic vibe to it. However it still sounds very much like a Thieves' Kitchen piece, with their very good musicianship, and the incorporation of "classic" sounding prog-rock (which will be evident to the listener from the keyboards part). Om Tare, which is apparently sung in Sanskrit, is a great rocky tune with effective riffing, sometimes countered and sometimes joined by Amy's singing. This is a great dynamic track which breaks the general slower and ponderous characteristic of the album. Aside from these, and returning to the distinct sound of the album, the other songs such as Chameleon and Tacenda For You are fine and well accomplished examples of their pensive progressive-rock sound which while being influenced from 70's prog rock spirit, does not sound outdated at all; rather it's fresh and exciting.

The Water Road is a highly enjoyable album, with a lineup of beautiful songs and talented musicians and composers.

July 2008 - Arlequins - original review in Italian (Reviewer: Jessica Attene)
Translation coming soon...
"Non vorrei avere sovrastimato l'effettivo valore di questo album con il mio entusiasmo, ma ascolto dopo ascolto mi sento di dire che per certe caratteristiche questo lavoro merita davvero un plauso speciale." ...read more

25th June 2008 - AmarokProg - original review in French (Reviewer: Cyrille Delanlssays)
Score: 7.0 Title: Afloat

The Genesis-like roots still infiltrate contemporary progressive music and the Swedishness of THIEVES' KITCHEN does not belie this influence. But "The Water Road", the fourth album from this quintet, tries here to reinvent itself whilst trying to assemble the parts of a definitely complex puzzle. The arrival of the keyboard player Thomas Johnson (from ANGLAGARD) is not alien to this evolution which tries to reconstruct a sound between the walls and the microphones of the studio of Mattias Olsson. The album uses for the first time an acoustic drum kit (unlike to the electronic option of the preceding albums) which is blended imperturbably with fretless bass, Mellotrons, oboe and other saxophones which tries with aplomb to avoid the crash landing of anxious enthusiasm, and creates a great classic. From the delicate introduction on piano to the well-named "The Long Fianchetto" (21 minutes, no less) the stage is set. As symphonic as one could wish. Structures with layers of guitars are constructed then coloured (the highly-strung "Om Tare" was born from the thigh of DREAM THEATER), jazzy passages are punctuated by the pretty singing of Amy Darby ("Chameleon" with a very PROCOL HARUM organ sound), not to mention the pastoral side of the work ("Returglas") which reaches its high point on "Plaint" - very short but (with this mixture of harp and traditional guitar!), with a delicate melancholy. Broadly very seventies ("Tacenda For You", "The Water Road") and with enough dark corners created by the sad cello played by Stina Petersson. Remarkably produced, "The Water Road" is a little bit long but very successful for an album that adheres to this kind of balance between technicality and flights of fancy.

23rd June 2008 - Hard Sounds - original review in Italian (Reviewer: Fabio Rancati)
Translation coming soon...
"Quando i sentimenti vincono sulla pura tecnica esecutiva. Bravi Thieves' Kitchen!" ...read more

11th June 2008 - ProgArchives.com (Reviewer: Robert Sargent)
***** (five stars)

Excellent album no doubt. Great compositions,great musicians,great recording sound. You get here the best of Scandinavian prog rock.

Make a salad with the best of Anekdoten,the best of White Willow,the best of Anglagard ,Sinkadus..etc... but add the inspired moments of Yes and Genesis. A very strong album for at last a very mature band.

9th June 2008 - Progressia - original review in French (Reviewer: Jean-Philippe Haas)
After having been a prolific group at the beginning of this decade (three albums between 2000 and 2003), Thieves' Kitchen benefited from a long pause to plan a route to better things. With The Water Road, gone are the defects of youth - this new disc has all the characteristics of the legendary 'album of maturity'. "The Long Fianchetto", "When the Moon Is In The River Of Heaven", "The Water Road"... these are many of the titles which inevitably make me think of the progressive Scandinavians, Änglagård. The lead instruments are vital: Mellotron, the flute, the piano, in short, all those instruments which, used advisedly, can bring a lump to the throat. The style of Thieves' Kitchen cannot however be summarised with this single reference: Hammond, cello, saxophone and acoustic guitar make us cross territories into varied atmospheres, sometimes with an affiliation with jazz-rock'n'roll, sometimes bringing up the pastoral simplicity of folk. Stripped passages also alternate with long and more complex developments and are mainly instrumental, which make the vocal interventions of Amy Darby even more pleasant. When they break the hypnotic effect of these soft and sad monotonous chants, or awake abruptly a somewhat dormant passage, the British grab us by the collar with big guitars, feverish Hammond or appropriate syncopated rhythms. Thieves' Kitchen therefore presents a kind of synthesis which the United Kingdom used to produce as a progressive traditional, with nevertheless a leaning towards Scandinavian melancholy. Far from innovative, the group has nevertheless lost its naivety and demonstrate with The Water Road an obvious control of their compositions, thus reaching a new stage in a career which is still unfolding.

June 2008 - DPRP - Dutch Progressive Rock Page (Reviewer - Leo Koperdraat)
Right from the start Thieves' Kitchen has been a special band. They aimed at doing things differently and during the three albums they released so far, that approach resulted in a sound that is difficult to categorise being a mixture between the good old 70 prog and jazz/fusion with a Canterbury feel. It makes them sound quite unique. In my opinion this has resulted in some brave but not always very consistent albums. The albums feature plenty of good ideas but they did not always succeed in transforming these ideas into good songs. Don't get me wrong - those three albums were all of a more than average quality but with the release of The Water Road everything really falls into place.

On this album there has been another line up change. On the last album it was vocalist Amy Darby, who proved to be an enormous good addition to the band and now it's the not completely unknown Thomas Johnson who has joined Thieves' Kitchen on keyboards. Johnson, who used to be a member of Sweden's Änglagård, replaces Wolfgang Kindl who returned to Germany. Do not expect that with the addition of Johnson, Thieves' Kitchen has turned into a British Änglagård. Apart from the fantastic Johnson written Returglas which has that trademark Änglagård stop/start style we know and love, the all too obvious trademarks of the Swedish band are absent. Thieves' Kitchen really holds onto its own style as described earlier. I do feel however that with Johnson there is more structure. Besides being a good keyboard player with a soft spot for those delicious analogue keyboards (recorded in Mattias Olsson's, again formerly of Änglagård, Roth Handle studio in Stockholm) he also has great arranging skills. As the band say on their website, a lot time was spent on the details and that's very obvious when you listen to the album. In my opinion that was the final piece of the puzzle that was missing. The Water Road is an analogue keyboard lovers dream as there is plenty of Mellotron (and not only the obvious flute, strings and choir sounds), Orchestron and Optigan playing to enjoy.

The album is an absolute gem. Mercy and Johnson together with Rob Aubrey and Mattias Olsson have done a great job on production and engineering, as the album sounds excellent, and the band have tried to maintain 'the dynamics in the performances and the compositions'. They also decided to record the album 'live' without click tracks and sequencers which was a brave decision, but they are well rewarded for it. Most of the vocal parts of the album are relaxed and beautifully sung by Amy Darby. Exception is the heavier Om Tare which features some excellent playing by the entire band, especially the heavy guitar work by Phil Mercy, with some unbelievable Hammond and mellotron playing by Thomas Johnson. But also Andy Bonham's bass work is something to admire as he plays some brilliant bass lines in that song and he is admirably supported by drummer Andy Robotham. Amy Darby adds more than her voice to the album as she plays some nice descant recorder on the epic album opener The Long Fianchetto (it's a chess term) and tenor recorder on the closing title track, some delicious Theremin on Returglas, Chameleon and clarsach (which sounds like a harp) on the short but beautiful Plaint. But not only the level of playing by the band members is of a very high standard also the album guests really shine. Paul Beecham and Anna Holmgren (also formerly of Änglagård) especially steal the show with some very emotional flute, saxophone and oboe parts. Listen to those beautiful melodies they play in the closing title track. Also the added cello work of Stina Petterson does add something extra to the already very strong compositions - she shines on the very short Plaint.

I could go on and on raving about this album as it really is faultless. The last section of Tacenda For You has a great solo guitar played by Phil Mercy and those mellotron brass sounds. Or the beautiful piano opening of the epic The Long Fianchetto. The arrangement of When The Moon Is In The River Of Heaven starts very quiet but the tension builds up and up and up, again with some beautiful flute work by Anna Holmgren. The album reaches its absolute height on the closing title track - what an excellent song - again the opening melody with cello, flute and oboe is absolutely gorgeous. The vocal sections are slower and jazzy with acoustic guitar, mellotron and Fender Rhodes. There is a funny but very short Fender Rhodes/acoustic guitar duel which reminded me of Gentle Giant, but then near the end the song opens up when the opening theme is repeated with a leading role for Phil Mercy's guitar. Each time I hear it I get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Yes, it's that beautiful. Oh come on why not add some mellotron choir as well! What a grand way to finish the album.

I've been playing this album for a couple of months now and each time I listen to it I hear something new. And each time it seems to get better and better. With The Water Road Thieves' Kitchen released a very rich album. Rich in beautiful melodies, rich in quality of the sound and rich in the arrangements. It's a classic and that's that.

Conclusion: 10 out of 10

June 2008 - Planet Mellotron
****1/2 (four and a half stars)

Thieves' Kitchen fell on their feet the day Thomas Johnson (a.k.a. Tomas Jonsson) joined. Those of you who've been watching/listening will have already made the connection; he was Änglagård's keyboard player for both their periods of activity, and recommendations don't come much higher than that. At the time of writing, he's living and studying in the UK, although I'm not entirely sure whether the band pursued him, or he answered a 'keyboard player wanted' ad; either way, his arrival is the musical step up they need to take them to the next level. Artistically speaking, of course, there's no money to be made in the wild'n'wacky world of prog, and everyone involved knows it, which hasn't stopped them from making an album as good as their fourth, The Water Road.

Thieves' Kitchen specialise in a slightly fusionesque form of prog, interestingly managing to sound like no-one else particularly in the process; Johnson's arrival (he writes or co-writes most of the album's material) shifts the balance towards the prog end of the spectrum, unsurprisingly, although some tracks retain a jazzy edge. By and large, though, we're talking symphonic prog as it was, is and ever shall be, with several guests to spice things up a little, not least Änglagård's erstwhile flautist, Anna Holmgren, as if the connection needed reinforcing. Vocals on most tracks from Amy Darby, so this isn't that much like Änglagård, although the band must realise comparisons are inevitable.

Thomas flew over to Mattias Olsson's Roth-Handle studio in Stockholm to overdub many of the album's keyboard parts; aside from the Mellotron, there are apparently various Optigan and Orchestron interjections, though they're not that easy to spot. As for the Mellotron, lengthy opener The Long Fianchetto has a few short string parts, plus what sounds like Mellotron vibes, but Thomas goes to town properly on his own Änglagårdesque composition, Returglas, with strings, cellos and brass all over. The strings crop up everywhere on the album, with other sounds dropping in and out as needed; choirs on Chameleon, church organ on Om Tare, flutes on the title track... A veritable 'Tron-fest, in fact.

So; do you like progressive rock? Do you like Mellotrons? Then buy this album, pronto. Thieves' Kitchen have come on leaps and bounds from their debut, and that wasn't bad... One criticism? It's too long, but that seems to be standard practice in the age of the 80-minute CD. Anyway, this really is one of the best new prog albums I've heard in a long time, and certainly one of the best from the UK. Buy. Now.

26th May 2008 - ProgArchives.com (Reviewer: Eric Neuteboom)
**** (four stars)

I had never heard of this UK formation when I got Thieves' Kitchen's new album entitled The Water Road, the fourth studio album since their debut-CD Head from 2000 and their latest effort Shibboleth from 2003. Well, listening to The Water Road the music often reminds me of Anglagard because of the frequent powerful Hammond organ runs and the abundant violin-Mellotron eruptions. When I read the booklet I discovered the reason: two guest musicians Thomas Jonson (keyboards) and Anna Holmgren once they joined ... the legendary and highly acclaimed progrock band Anglagard, what a pleasant surprise! Along those King Crimson inspired bands like Anglagard and Anekdoten, we can also enjoy mellow parts with classical overtones (flute, hobo, cello) and dynamic jazzrock featuring a guitar sound in the vein of Daryl Stuermer and an omnipresent Fender Rhodes electric piano.

This great musical variety is very present in the epic first composition The Long Fianchetto (over 20 minutes) delivering a wonderful piano intro, strong interplay between electric guitar and Fender piano, bombastic Hammond and Mellotron work, fiery guitar runs, dreamy parts with beautiful female vocals, flute and acoustic guitar and a compelling final part with lush keyboards, fiery guitar and a propulsive rhythm-section. The frequent shifting moods sound very flowing and I am delighted about the tasteful keyboard arrangements, often in strong interplay with the guitar. Next the instrumental Returglas, an exciting blend of folk, rock and prog that contains lots of interesting musical ideas, a big hand for Thieves' Kitchen! Then the dreamy Chameleon with a lush instrumentation (from saxophone and hobo to Hammond organ) and a beautiful grand finale featuring majestic violin-Mellotron and howling guitar. The track Om Tare (lyrics in Sanskrit) sounds like swinging 'symphonic jazzrock (evoking Colosseum II) with excellent keyboardplay and sensational guitarwork. The long, violin-Mellotron drenched composition Tacenda For You (close to 10 minuts) alternates between mellow (with flute and cello), compelling and catchy with again great keyboard variety and strong guitarwork (from Fripperian to a powerful jazzrock sound). Next the the song When The Moon Is In The River Of Heaven: first a moving atmosphere with sensitive guitar, violin-Mellotron, warm vocals and Fender piano, then mighty Mellotron waves and a dreamy climate that gradually turns into more lush and compelling featuring delicate Fender piano, flute and the unsurpassed Mellotron. Then the short, to me a bit too fragmentic track Plaint. The final composition is the long The Water Road, mainly quite laidback (in the vein of the beautiful Italian 'pastoral' prog like Celeste and Apotheosi) with a dreamy sound of flute, cello, hobo, halfway followed by more powerful work on Hammond, Mellotron and Fender piano. Then the music slows down but in the final part the music turns into bombastic and compelling with fiery electric guitar, fluent drum work and lush violin-Mellotron, a splendid goodbye!

I am impressed by the alternating sound of Thieves' Kitchen on their new album The Water Road, this is very interesting new progrock!

P.s.: After writing this review I noticed that this album is categorized in Neo-Prog. Well, Neo-prog haters (I know many are around here on PA), don't look the other way because The Water Road obviously scouts the border between symphonic rock and jazzrock, there is not a single 'neo-prog note' on this new Thieves' Kitchen CD!

9th May 2008 - Progressive Area - original review in French (Reviewer: Priam)
THIEVES' KITCHEN are staying ahead of the game. After three slightly different albums, their fourth is of the same style but, it should be said, is even better! After a "Head" and an "Argot" which we somewhat reminiscent of Genesis, a "Shibboleth" which took on something of a Jazz Rock'n'roll style as well as a new female recruit on vocals, "The Water Road" enjoys slightly more freedom and accommodates in its centre a new character, a certain Thomas JOHNSON who is none other than a former member of the famous Swedish group ANGLAGARD. That's great news! Lastly, in every case, this little guy is very involved in the writing on this album, jointly with the guitarist Phil MERCY who you will recall is the founder of the group. Some guests are also involved, Anna HOLMGREN, ANGLAGARD, Paul BEECHAM playing saxophone and oboe, and the cellist Stina PETTERSSON. But after having spoken about all these beautiful people, let us release this euphoria which we are spelling out to declare that we know for sure that with a line up like that, the music of THIEVES' KITCHEN is likely to land a blow. Moreover, at this beginning of year England offered many pleasant surprises, in particular TANGENT and MAGENTA, to us and it's now the turn of THIEVES' KITCHEN to break the mould. Musically, as you would have expected in the presence of Thomas JOHNSON, the compositions involve slabs of Mellotron, of Rhodes, of piano and a cleverly proportioned whole. But do not believe that you will find another ANGLAGARD behind all that, but rather another album of THIEVES' KITCHEN with these long instrumental parts, and propelled by the splendid voice of Amy DARBY. I must not forget the enchanting flute parts giving an additional charm to this opus of Progressive Rock'n'roll which is also strewn with good jazzy sections as well as many appearances of the guitar which delights us with small solos and long sections that Phil MERCY offers us. Admittedly, the multiple interventions of the mellotron and Rhodes will bring back some good memories but the pleasure is there and will transcend you throughout this marvellous album. A very big favourite, as you will have gathered, for there's no doubt that I realise that this is THIEVES' KITCHEN'S best album. Yes, I know everyone always says the same thing with each new album release, but there is no doubt this time. Get your head into the trough at your record store so as not to miss this small progressive jewel.

25th April 2008 - ProgArchives.com (Reviewer: 'barp')
***** (five stars) Absolutely stunning!

Easily the band's best album to date and one that conjures up the very best of vintage Britsh prog of the seventies, whilst still sounding fresh and innovative. There are echoes of King Crimson particularly in the use of mellotron alongside flute and recorders and in some of Phil Mercy's guitar tones, perhaps there's a touch of Gentle Giant's influence in some of the more complex arrangements and ambitious lyrics, but never to the degree that the music could be called derivative. This is an album of gloriously individual progresive music, fuzing jazz, symphonic, classical, rock and folk elements in a way I think I've hardly ever heard from a band since the seventies - probably Anglagard would be the last occasion. Thomas Johnson formerly of Anglagard plays keyboards in the band and provides fantastic work throughout the disk alongside Amy Darby - vocals, recorders, clarinet, Phil Mercy - Guitars, Andy Bonham - Bass and Mark Robotham - Drums. The group are augmented by Anna Holmgren on flute on several tracks and occasionally add cello, oboe and saxophone.

I've enjoyed all the band's albums and thought Shibboleth was excellent, but nothing prepared me for the giant leap forward they have made with The Water Road. Of course everyone's tastes are different and undoubtedly many won't be as enamoured of this album as I am and it's always a little daunting giving five stars to an album having only lived with it for a few weeks - but I am sure it's a release well worth seeking out for anyone who enjoyed the heady days of British prog during the seventies and, for me, one of the best progressive releases in years.

Highly recommended!

21st April 2008 - Music Waves - original review in French (Reviewer: Batric)
To be honest with you, I hadn't really missed Thieves' Kitchen since we last heard from them in 2003. Their previous opus Shibboleth had charmed me for two listens before falling into the category of distant memories, those which make you say: "Thieves' Kitchen? Ah yes, I reviewed them once upon a time on Music Waves… " but which don't really bring back any more details.

The new album arrived last month and fell through my letterbox without creating either excitement or dread. However, the very first notes compel the listener to pay attention thanks to some extremely beautiful and inspired piano. I hadn't told you yet but Thieves' Kitchen made one single personnel change between these two albums, namely that of its keyboard player, a certain Thomas Johnson who feeds himself as much on King Crimson as on Miles Davis and Igor Stravinsky. This gentle beginning has a beautiful effect, between melancholy and typical jazz harmonies. The rhythm section enters, some notes on the cello, some breaks and guitar solos later and then we have the appearance on stage of the singer who, in my humble opinion, spent part of these last four years perfecting her vocal style which sits perfectly into the Thieves' Kitchen style. No virtuosity in the voice, certainly, but a very confident performance behind the microphone.

And this team invites us to enter an epic of more than 20 minutes, multiplying the intertwining melodies as much as the difficult breaks which are deserving of the efforts to tame them. The problem is frequently that the 20 minute long mountain which opens an album and generates the admiration of each and everyone tends to be mitigated by the remainder of the album. However, that's far from being the case here because there are nuggets throughout this album, such as "Chameleon" which is carried by a melody which may appear a little naive on first listening but conceals a myriad of rhythmic and melodic treasures, in particular the accompaniment of the keyboard which, as you will have gathered, doesn't cease to allure me.

In the end, nothing is ruined, there are strokes of genius in this album: The alternation between the calm opening and the delirious folk of "Returglas"; the short vocal intro at the beginning of "Om Tare" and two pieces which grab me even more than the others by their consistent quality: "When The Moon Is In The River Of Heaven" and the eponymous piece which closes this album. Also throw in a marked and very relevant use of the saxophone and it's easy to see that this is an inspired album which, unlike its predecessor, will return regularly to my turntable. Then I wonder whether I should be being more severe with "The Water Road". The reason is simple; this album suffers a major defect in my eyes and which would not require much to be corrected. In the style of compositions chosen by Thieves' Kitchen, the interpretational choices and the production are essential but there is something that obstructs me. I think perhaps that a less aggressive guitar tone and slightly more "flexible" drums would have really allowed this opus to take on a still higher dimension. This is certainly a subjective opinion but I will await the next album with interest this time, in the hope that these last defects are fixed

6th April 2008 - Progressive Ears (Reviewer: BillG)
The fourth Thieves' Kitchen CD comes with one change in the five piece lineup, and that is the addition of former Anglagard keyboardist Thomas Johnson (!!) to replace Wolfgang Kindl who departed to start a family in Germany, his home country. While his excellent skills are to be missed, there is, in my opinion of course, not a better fit than Thomas. Anglagard alumnus Anna Holmgren also contributes flute, in a number of lovely passages, while former TK bassist Paul Beecham plays oboe and sax, and Stina Pattersson adds cello. The TK website announces that with this album emphasis is on feel, melody, intricacy and atmosphere (four of my favorite musical qualities) and the use of more natural instruments contribute greatly to this emphasis.

The album begins with the 21-minute epic, 'The Long Fianchetto', starting with introspective piano, a la Anthony Phillips, for maybe a minute before the band kicks in, building a dreamy atmospheric stretch into the type of instrumental grandeur peculiar to TK. (the CD flourishes in grand instrumental sections by the way) Several minutes into the CD Amy Darby's voice comes in, like an old friend, with a lilting melody, perhaps an Irish feel at this moment. Amy's voice by the way is richer than on Shibboleth (the previous TK CD) and this is especially apparent later on in the CD, due in part I think to the fact that the melodies have so much feeling. Nevertheless, I think she has one of the most wonderful voices out there, and not like anyone I can think of. More on that later. One of my favorite parts of this piece is when the recorder comes in, carrying an absolutely lovely melody, the kind that stick with you and sound great in your head for days after. It is evident that the writing style of Thomas Johnson and Phil Mercy compliment each other quite well, and they are given fairly even composition time on the album.

Track 2, 'Returglas', is a Johnson composition and not completely without its Anglagard feel, from the gorgeous first section, to the frenzied middle, and again to the conclusion somewhere between the two.

'Chameleon', is the third track, with Amy's pristine voice setting off with another fine melody. I am struck here with how insightful and poignant her lyrics are throughout. "I thought I was an island. I didn't realize you were the sea", she sings, and there is not a line that isn't meaningful in some way. As to the music, it is hard to make comparisons as more than ever they have a sound all their own, but Hatfield & The North comes the most readily to mind. This is one of the tracks where the Theremin makes an appearance, a haunting addition to the beauty of the whole.

Track 4, 'Om Tare', is the most in-your-face dynamic piece, a bit reminiscent of some of their earlier works. Very, very tight. Phil's voice harmonizes on these Sanskrit lyrics with Amy's, producing an interesting effect, and by interesting, I mean great.

'Tacenda for You' is another great long track (9 1/2 minutes), melodic and warm with a feel not too far from the Canterbury sound many of us know and love. More great vocals, more great music augmented nicely by flute, recorder and cello.

The sixth piece, 'When the Moon is in the River of Heaven' is possibly the most beautiful track on the album, and one of my personal favorites. It is this song where Amy's voice did actually give me chills, and where I came to the full realization that this was to be a very special and personal album for me, and that it would be with me for a long, long time. Sorry to gush here, but it really is that good. Why bother looking at it any other way? My emotions have become involved.

Track 7, is a short, fairly introspective piece with a Chinese flavor, and the album concludes with the 11 minute title track, another personal favorite for me. Paul Beecham's oboe carries the majestic melody in grand fashion, and the album concludes with a fantastic finale.

It is becoming a great year for music, and this one tops my list absolutely.

3rd April 2008 - ZNR
Well, I should start off by saying that I have never made any secret that I am a fan of everything this band has done. So, even this long-time fan and supporter of the band has to admit that the press release for "The Water Road" stating that it is by far their best work is in no way an exaggeration. It has been nearly 5 years since the release of the group's excellent third album "Shibboleth" and I can say without reservation that they had been hard at work on what can only be described as a progressive symphonic rock masterpiece! This is certainly the best Thieves' Kitchen album but my praise goes much further than that. It is the finest album made by any symphonic progressive band in the last 30 years! Period. Beautifully and majestically melodic. Powerfully Rhythmic. Masterful arrangements both instrumentally and vocally. Harmonically advanced and conceptually cohesive. The core of the band remains Phil Mercy (guitars,vocals), Andy Bonham (fretted & fretless basses) and Mark Robotham (drums & cymbals). Returning from the last album is the wonderful singer Amy Darby whose voice sounds like the perfect marriage of Annie Haslam & Sonja Kristina - with a hint at Joni Mitchell! Original keyboardist Wolfgang Kindl has been replace by Thomas Johnson. Johnson's style is much more symphonic and classical - the closest reference being Renaissance's John Tout mixed with some of Tony Banks' harmonic sensibilities and some of the late Peter Bardens' raw talent. Where Wolfgang's playing was more about atmosphere & texture, Thomas has a wider ranging palate giving his arrangements the ability to go from delicate solo piano to multi-layered orchestrations and everywhere in between. The only other symphonic prog band of recent years to reach this level was Sweden's Anglagard. Interestingly Anglagard's Mattias Olsson and Anna Holmgren both appear as guests. While Mattias' musical contribution is limited to 'loops' on the song "Chameleon" (and to help with the engineering), Anna plays the beautiful flute parts on nearly every track! And the recording itself is breathtaking - with a depth and dynamic texture usually found only in recordings from the 1970s made in big, famous studios. The two things that are notoriously difficult to record properly - vocals and drums - both sound crystal clear and natural. Mark Robotham has switched to an entirely acoustic kit making the recording even more dynamic! I could go on and on about how great Phil Mercy's guitar lines are, or about the depth and poetry of the lyrics, about the beautiful guest parts of Paul Beecham (oboe) or cellist Stina Petterson. Or about the gorgeous vocal overdubs by Amy Darby and how she has an incredible range from warm alto to crystalline mezzo-soprano. Or about Thomas Johnson's beautiful keyboard arrangements including the real mellotrons! I could drop names like Genesis, Camel, Yes, King Crimson and Anglagard to give you some idea of the overall sound. But none of this - none of it - will really prepare you for how great this album is. It is one of a handful of symphonic rock albums of the last 30 years that no fan of that genre can do without. Period!

3rd April 2008 - Jazzis (Reviewer: Adam Baruch)
4th album by British (well almost) Prog band Thieves' Kitchen, which comes five years after their splendid previous release Shibboleth - quite a long time of course, but plainly worth the delay in view of the result. TK are one of the very few bands, which manages to make giant leaps between consecutive albums, all in the right direction. Each of their albums has not only been different stylistically and conceptually, but they consistently keep growing up and expanding their musical and lyrical vocabulary. Whereas the last album took them into the ambitious RIO direction, this one takes another turn and brings the band very closely to Scandinavian Prog, with Isildurs Bane and Anglagard coming to mind almost immediately. The fact that the band has a Scandinavian member (ex-Anglagard keyboards player) and a few of the guest musicians on this album are Scandinavians as well might have something to do with this, but I prefer to give them the credit for choosing this path as part of their intentional direction-seeking. In view of the fact that Scandinavian Prog is definitely the most advanced and aesthetically rewarding on the contemporary Prog scene, TK could have chosen no better bearing than this. Fronted by the remarkable vocalist Amy Darby, the band includes also four exceptional instrumentalist: Phil Mercy - guitars, Thomas Johnson - keyboards, Andy Bonham - bass and Mark Robotham - drums. Although Darby's vocal parts are the most striking and immediately noticeable feature, there are plenty of great instrumental parts here, which are worth listening to attentively. Darby (as I already mentioned in my review of the previous album, her first with TK) continues the great tradition of outstanding unconventional female vocalist like Julie Tippetts (Julie Driscoll) and Annette Peacock. On this album she also occasionally reminds me of Joni Mitchell, another great model to follow. As if her singing abilities are not sufficient, Darby also wrote all the original lyrics on this album (two of the tracks feature lyrics translated from Chinese and one uses Sanskrit) and took care of the elegant and exquisite graphic design of the album's artwork (and the band's web site). Definitely a talented lady! The music is mostly contemplative, slowly developing the intricate melodies, with plenty of breathing space and long instrumental passages. Expanding the band with guest musicians playing flute, cello, oboe, saxophone and other instruments, the music receives a loving treatment and intimate chamber character. Kudos to TK for creating this beautiful piece of music. I only hope that many people will enjoy this album as much as I have. Wholeheartedly recommended!

More reviews still to come...

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