Glass Hammer is back with If, the 11^th studio album by this ever-changing group from Chattanooga, Tennessee. Multi-instrumentalist band stalwarts Steve Babb and Fred Schendel are joined in the latest incarnation of Glass Hammer by newcomers Jon Davison (vocals), Alan Shikoh (guitars) and Randall Williams (drums). Babb handles bass duties and some keyboards, while Schendel provides keyboards and steel guitar.

Four of the six tracks clock in at nine minutes or longer, with the longest of these being the 24-minute closing number, “If the Sun,” which will quench your thirst for progressive rock epics. In short, it’s a return to the Glass Hammer you know, after the group’s departure into pop/prog territory on its last album, 2009’s Three Cheers for the Broken Hearted.

Davison is the perfect vocalist for this band, which has proven on this latest release that they can “out-Yes” Yes. Davison’s voice is uncannily like that of ‘70s progressive rock legend Jon Anderson. Indeed, this album sounds a lot like a lost Yes album, and I mean that in the very best possible way.  Even the lyrics are Anderson-esque at times (“I sing electric to the sky / I sing to the orbs in the heavens,” for example). I also hear tiny hints of Gentle Giant (musically) on this album, and you get the usual Emerson, Lake & Palmer influence you’ve come to expect from the band.

The opener, “Beyond, Within,” wastes no time announcing what kind of album this will be. The song evokes Yes over the course of its almost 12 minutes. It’s a Yes-sounding song, with a Yes-sounding title. It sets the tone beautifully. The keyboards and guitar announce early on that this is going to be a symphonic smorgasbord. Vocals and guitar call forth the Yes ghosts in great numbers. The song does a great job of introducing Shikoh’s various guitar talents to the GH audience.

If Glass Hammer has its own signature sound, they bring it out at the beginning of the second track, “Behold the Ziddle.” Bass and ethereal keyboards take center stage in the early going of this 9-minute song, with Davison channeling his inner Jon Anderson to great effect. The song sounds like what you’d get if you spliced together DNA strands from tunes by Yes, ELP and Gentle Giant. It is precisely this mixture that makes it “sound like Glass Hammer.” As for what a Ziddle is, it is clearly some kind of creature (it has a lair, apparently). Other than that, I couldn’t tell you. It could be similar to a squonk for all I know.

“Grace the Sky” is the shortest track on the album, at four and a half minutes. The keyboard intro provides a bit of bombast at the onset, but it settles into a melodic and somewhat atmospheric mid-tempo track. The guitar work comes straight from the Steve Howe school, adding to the Yes vibe. It’s a very positive and uplifting song.

The other “short” song is “At Last We Are,” at just under seven minutes in length. Some very ELP-sounding keyboards and possibly more like ELP clones Triumvirat than the original thing, as parts sound like they could have come right off the Spartacus album. There is a nice instrumental section midway through this song with alternating keyboard and guitar runs. There is some cool vocal interplay on it as well.

“If the Stars” is a return to long-form songs, at about ten and a half minutes. It starts out with some delicate strings and Yes-ish nonsense lyrics. Davison shines again with some of his best singing on the album here. This song hit all the right notes with me, and could become my favorite Glass Hammer song ever. The guitars, ethereal keyboards and vocals, with some mellotron flourishes (probably a keyboard patch rather than the genuine article) all combine to create a majestic song. There are sections where I’d like the riffs to have a bit more bite to them, but they still work fine as is. The last few minutes of the song are as good as anything the band has ever recorded, with Howe-esque guitar runs, chimes and keyboard washes backing up Davison’s sublime singing.

The grand finale of the album, “If the Sun” closes the album in true bombastic Glass Hammer fashion. Keyboard and guitar interplay opens this monster 24+ minute titan. The Babb and Williams rhythm section support the synthesizer and guitar melodies with a solid foundation. Babb’s bass gets a little more space in the early parts of this song than elsewhere on the album, and Shikoh is able to get a bit jazzy at times.

Four minutes in, the song shifts into a huge keyboard wash, before simplifying into piano (possibly electric piano) and Howe-ish guitar over the bedrock of bass and drums. Davison’s vocals re-enter and then the song takes some twists and turns, including a sitar sound. Around the eight minute mark we get some lower Babb/Schendel backing vocals which provide a tasty counterpoint to Davison’s much higher pitch. The song slows for an atmospheric section around 10 minutes, with some keyboard work reminiscent of “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Davison’s vocals in this section once again remind the listener of Jon Anderson’s heyday. From there the songs builds into a killer instrumental section, increasing in tempo and featuring a bit more rocking guitar and nifty some keyboard pyrotechnics.

The twists and turns continue throughout the epic, ebbing and flowing, evoking the best work off of previous GH albums like The Inconsolable Secret and Culture of Ascent. There are returns of previous themes and rhythms from the early sections of the song. “If the Sun” finally builds to a satisfying climax drenched in keyboards and layered vocals, all supported by that bass and drums foundation, before finally ending on a single note. 

If there are any problems with the album, they are minor. I would like the drums to be a bit more prevalent in the mix. It’s not like they’re inaudible, but I think they could really add some meat to an already very solid release. The Yes comparisons continue with the artwork of German designer Tom Kuhn, who pulls off a very nice Roger Dean-style cover. Maybe the band is just being a little “too Yes” on the release, but it just works for me.

There isn’t much here that a longtime Glass Hammer fan won’t enjoy. For those who haven’t liked the band’s output up to now, however, there is the opportunity to find something worthwhile, particularly for those Yes lovers who don’t mind when a band mimics their style.

Track Listing:

1. Beyond, Within 11:44
2. Behold The Ziddle 9:11
3. Grace The Sky 4:29
4. At Last We Are 6:46
5. If The Stars 10:25
6. If The Sun 24:02