The modern state that the world of progressive rock is currently in is most certainly a very curious one for various reasons. On the one hand prog is one of those genres that has gathered an aura of pretentiousness, one of those genres that is full to the brim with people that catalog the music as intellectual, as something that only the enlightened and smart folk would be able to truly enjoy, and full of musical acts that also seem to endorse that mindset in a lot of manners. And while this aspect of the community is very present, those statements could not be, of course, further from the truth, since that style of music isn't supposed to be enjoyed by just one type of individuals, and the amount of prog albums that are held as all-time classics in the history of rock music certainly prove that better than anything else. In the end, and as a huge prog fan myself, the only thing I would recommend more than anything else is to please further yourself as much as possible from the baffling snob-ish community in order to just explore and enjoy the music as much as possible.
That being said, modern prog is a very interesting mixed bag regarding the musical aspects that are part of it. On the one hand you truly have acts that focus to live up to the name of the genre, "progressing" or innovating as much as they can in their own personal styles, having their own influences but not wearing them as an essential part of who they are, ending up in certainly outstanding records that captivate listeners in the best way possible. But for the most part you have the throwback acts that aim to mimic the classic acts from the 70's in all the ways possible, with the vast majority of these bands feeling uninspired, lazy, and just aimless with their work. Thankfully this is slowly starting to change more and more, and both new and old acts are starting to be more daring with their proposals, leading to the last few years in the world of prog music being very exciting and full of unique and worthwhile projects that give new life to this wonderful genre. However that is not to say that among this sea of acts imitating the classic style there weren't some groups or artists that did manage to do so on a remarkable way, bringing new life to what is old, executing ideas in the best way possible, not because they were just taking that classic style, but because they were doing so on a very unique way, grabbing from the best parts of their influences and giving birth to something completely new. And among those remarkable acts Wobbler stands as one of the most consistent and delightfully marvelous.
Wobbler don't have a relatively big discography, but for a band that has been going strong for more than two decades now, their five studio outputs make up for one of the strongest and most consistent offerings that one will be able to find in the world of modern prog. Using the same buzzwords and cliché comparisons you can make, because this is one of the few instances where those actually make sense, this band is just a jack of all trades when it comes to their influences and style of music. Chris Squire's influence in the bass, a perfect blend of Genesis and Gentle Giant's style of onstage/studio presence, ELP's elegance in the compositions but with the decency of knowing their limits in order to not overwhelm the listener by going that overboard, it all can be found on a discography full of wonderful tracks, powerful performances, and incredible musicianship. It really is a band that leaves one wondering how most of these songs would be translated to a live setting, and even though a live album from them would be an incredible offering it sadly isn't something that has taken place yet, but once again bootlegs are here to satisfy that need.
The band has had its fair share of bootlegs popping up throughout the years, but sadly none of these ended up being from a soundboard source, ending up with a lot of audience recordings of varying quality. But it's not all too bad, I've always been a big defender of audience tapes specially since a lot of my own personal favorite bootleg recordings were sourced from similar places, and there are some outstanding sets from Wobbler to take notice of being available by such means. What I share here today is one of their 2018 performances (the era that has the most bootleg recordings available for the public, and for very good reasons), my favorite one out of the bunch, since its the one with the most listenable and clean sound quality throughout the entire set, that took place during the 50th anniversary of the Burg Herzberg Festival in Germany. The festival as a whole was mostly a disappointment for most people attending it due to the huge mixed bag that were the main musical acts, but most articles and forum discussions on the matter agree that Wobbler immediately took the spotlight and almost made up for the rest of the experience. Hot right out of the release of their fourth album, "From Silence To Nowhere" (my absolute favorite out of their entire discography), one year prior, Wobbler were at full force, and this set accentuates that in the best ways. Starting off with two songs from their first album and then picking the highlights from both their new album and their previous effort "Rites At Dawn" (including both epics from the new album as well as offering wonderful extended renditions of In Orbit and specially This Past Presence), with the only lackluster aspect of this recording being the sound quality, which isn't bad, but the whole thing could benefit more from a direct soundboard source or a clearer audience tape. A close to two hour long set that ends up being mesmerizing, full of charm from the band members and their interactions with the audience, wonderfully executed, and full of remarkable musicianship that serves as further proof that Wobbler are one band that deserves all the love and recognition it gets.
But more than just a way of sharing a great set this is just a way to encourage anyone who is unaware of the band to just give them a try. They released another wonderful album in 2020 and a compilation of their first three albums in late 2021, which is certainly a more convenient way to listen to them I suppose. Supporting their bandcamp if you happen to end up liking their music would be just the best thing to do (or, you know, just fucking give them their money by buying From Silence to Nowhere, that is just a fully incredible album), seriously heavy recommendations from my part.
Whatever you end up doing, I just hope you are having a blast doing so. Cheers!!!!
1. Clair Obscur (2:41)
2. Rubato Industry (13:52)
3. Welkom (1:06)
4. From Silence to Somewhere (22:47)
5. This Past Presence (21:23)
6. Foxlight (15:41)
7. In Orbit (16:00)
