Primitive Instinct

Any band that starts their recording career on Cyclops Records is always worth keeping an eye on as they progress and Primitive Instinct, signed to the label in 1994, are no exception.

Following on from great Cyclops bands such as The Pineapple Thief, Twelfth Night, Landmarq and Mostly Autumn, P.I. are a Maidstone-based progressive-lite band who have been around for something like twenty five years although ‘One Man’s Refuge’ is only their fourth album – so, hardly prolific then.

However, what they lack in output they more than make up for in quality as this is a rather fine effort.

Sounding like a cross between Hogarth-era Marillion and Barclay James Harvest with a soupcon of Genesis thrown in, the band ply their own brand of progressive rock with a definite undercurrent of pop sensitivity, to great effect.

You won’t find grinding guitars, hectoring vocals and double kick-drum buffoonery here. What you will find is timeless musicality hand in glove with cultured, thoughtful lyrics aligned to, goddammit, exceptional songwriting and a few to-die-for choruses.

Eleven tracks to enjoy and hardly a weak link to be seen. Highlights include the wonderfully atmospheric title track, the largely acoustic ‘Still Finding My Way’, the killer chorus of ‘Falling Down’ and the majestic eclecticism of ‘Solitary Man’.

If you like your progressive rock with a hard, metallic edge, chances are you’d best look elsewhere.

If you like intelligent, well played, classic progressive rock with a sensitive heart, look no further.

Get Ready To Rock

PRIMITIVE INSTINCT
One Man's Refuge
WWW.PRIMITIVE-INSTINCT.COM
Primitive Instinct celebrated their
25th anniversary last year, and this
new album is their first since Belief
back in 2000. They have not been
entirely dormant during that time
though and the nucleus of the band
- Nick Sheridan on vocals and
guitar, Pic on bass - are now joined
by Graham McGarrick on drums
and Jonathan Vincent on keyboards.
One Man's Refuge is true to the
PI sound - expansive tracks full of
melody with a hint of prog, it truly
rekindles memories of the early 90' s
in its feel. Sheridan's vocals are the
focal point of most of the tracks, and
they are clear and tuneful. It's the
sort of album you'll keep humming
tracks from after you've listened to
it. Their pleasing sound draws from
the likes ofIt Bites, BjH, and the
early days of Hogarth era Marillion.
It may not be ground breaking but
it's got kind of stuck in the CD
player since it arrived, and I think
that says it all!
Primitive Instinct will be on our
stage at the Cambridge Rock
Festival this year. MB

Reviews

One Man's Refuge
www.progarchives.com: 4/5 When I wrote a Jadis review recently, I said that I had to check the calendar to confirm that I was in 2012 and not in 1992, so when I heard that Primitive Instinct were releasing a new album as well I did a serious doubletake. PI were one of the very first bands signed to Cyclops Records when Malcolm started the label ('Floating Tangibility' being the third on the label) yet by the time that the album was released in 1994 the band had already been around for seven years. They were fairly active on the London circuit but for some reason I never actually caught one of their gigs, although I regularly bumped into guitarist/vocalist Nick Sheridan as he was often attending the same concerts as me. I had put them into the bucket of 'bands I should I have seen but are now long gone', yet here we have a new album (release date November 3rd) and a 25th anniversary gig to launch the album!
So after all this time, what would the album be like? In many ways this is mature yet also with a naïveté that makes it truly appealing. There are elements of It Bites, some of Hogarth-era Marillion, some BJH, some Howard Jones, but essentially lots of PI. The songs are built around Nick's vocals, with a very loose structure so that there is loads of space and room for the music to live and breathe. There are many more pop sensibilities than many other prog acts, and these guys could easily work with a well-known Prog band but could also cut into musical areas dominated by bands as diverse as Mumford & Sons or Coldplay.

It is an album that makes me smile while I listen to it for no particular reason (any reference to too much alcohol will obviously be ignored). The band have grown older (well we all have), yet to my abused ears we could be back in the early Nineties when British prog was truly underground and everyone in the scene felt that were involved in something special together. It's been 12 years since the last album, let's hope we don't have to wait so long for the next one. For more information on the band and to order the CD visit www.primitive-instinct.com
Kev Rowland 30/10/2012
Primitive Instinct celebrated their 25th anniversary last year, and this new album is their first since Belief back in 2000. They have not been entirely dormant during that time though and the nucleus of the band - Nick Sheridan on vocals and guitar, Pic on bass - are now joined by Graham McGarrick on drums and Jonathan Vincent on keyboards. One Man's Refuge is true to the PI sound - expansive tracks full of melody with a hint of prog, it truly rekindles memories of the early 90' s in its feel. Sheridan's vocals are the focal point of most of the tracks, and they are clear and tuneful. It's the sort of album you'll keep humming tracks from after you've listened to
it. Their pleasing sound draws from the likes ofIt Bites, BjH, and the early days of Hogarth era Marillion. It may not be ground breaking but it's got kind of stuck in the CD player since it arrived, and I think that says it all!
MB Classic Rock Society
 
Belief 
DRRP: Belief is an excellent well-balanced album.....  You hear that everything stands or falls with the way the songs are presented........This is the strength of Primitive Instinct.

Conclusion: 9 out of 10.  Read full review here

Reels of Dreams: Primitive Instinct have managed to do for seven minutes what most musicians today can’t even do in three — they have kept your attention, they have made you want to listen, and they have you hooked.

Read full review here

DURP: After six years again a sign of life from this British band - and a great one. Though "Belief" fits not into the progressive rock category PRIMITIVE INSTINCT did a great job anyway. The songwriting is really good and also the production works well.

8 Points

Read full review here

Progressive World:  From the opening notes of the very first song I knew I was going to like this! Rarely does that happen.

Read full review here

Axiom of Choice: The songs are accessible, but have enough variation for me, for instance because of the percussive drive or the strongly accenting keyboards, and if that is not enough listen to the vocal melodies, which simply shine.

Read full reviewhere

More reviews at

New Horizons
Classic Rock
Progwereld
Silhobbit
Babyblaue
Prognosis