Pure Reason Revolution - Valour

The fact that this EP has but one new track should surely bar it from high marks. On the merits of the material alone though, sui generis, it’d be a disservice to a fantastic band to do anything but lavish them with the praise they deserve – especially when ‘Valour’ is a charity release to mark their passing.

At the heart of ‘Valour’ is the same dichotomy that crippled their career. After being embraced by the progressive mainstream following their post-progressive masterpiece ‘The Dark Third’, they then alienated a significant portion of their fanbase with two increasingly abstract electronic albums. Nevertheless, ‘Amor Vincit Omnia’, from which Valour takes ‘Black Mourning’ was a fantastic electronic rock concept album, and ‘Hammer & Anvil’ was not only an underrated masterpiece, but the best post-Cooper Temple Clause project undertaken by any of CTC’s bandmembers.

Consequently it’s fitting that despite being released to coincide with a tour where ‘The Dark Third’ is played in its entirety, ‘Valour’ is heavily weighted towards ‘Hammer & Anvil’; the sole first-album track, ‘The Bright Ambassadors Of Morning’ is watered down to four minutes and outclassed by ‘Tempest’, the final track of their career. Ending on an a capella rendition of ‘Gaudete’, this curious EP does a fine job of drawing a line under a very strange but equally vital band.