Scott's Song by Song #42: Fearful Symmetry - I've Started, So I'll Finish
Originally posted to Facebook on August 25, 2025
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Welcome to issue #42 of Scott’s Song By Song (#scottssongbysong).For more information about this series, click here: https://www.facebook.com/share/Gc2VkwHQWGLdeaDd/?mibextid=oFDknk
This week’s review is UK prog band Fearful Symmetry’s third album “I’ve Started, So I’ll Finish…” This is another album that Anne-Claire Rallo of Bad Dog Promotions has asked me to review, and provided me with an advance digital copy to listen to. (As always, I receive no additional compensation, and am free to express my opinions as I hear it.) The album is due out on Bandcamp on September 5 (link below the review). I didn’t know anything about this band so I went looking and found out some wonderful information. The leader is Suzi James who is a multi-instrumentalist adept at guitar, bass, keyboards, flute, violin, oud,and mandolin. She has been playing semi-professionally since the 70s before going full-time after her retirement from her long career at British Airways in 2015. In 2018, she founded Fearful Symmetry with her cousin, bassist Jeremy Shotts. From what I have found, Jeremy was originally from Tel-Aviv, Israel. Rounding out the line-up are drummer Sharon Petrover, who is actually based in Tel Aviv and has a massive resume (and is male for clarification purposes only), and Jeremy’s daughter Yael Shotts became the vocalist. Jeremy was deeply involved in the composition and creation of the band’s first album “Louder than Words” released in 2019. Before the second album, however, Jeremy amicably (as I understand it), stepped aside to allow Fearful Symmetry to become focused on Suzi’s multi-instrumentalism. He had, however, contributed compositionally to the second album’s 15 minute epic “Warlords” to which he wrote part of the lyrics. That album was titled “The Difficult Second” and was released in 2022.
That brings us to today’s album “I’ve Started, So I’ll Finish…” which was recorded by the trio of James, Petrover, and Yael Shotts, with one guest musician, Mark Cook providing Warr Guitar on track 7, “There are no Words”. Let’s give it a listen, shall we? (This is a cold listen with the exception of portions of the opening track.)
Track 1 - One by One
This is the lead-off single for the album, which is already widely available for listening on Bandcamp and YouTube. The tune begins with a drum fill leading to a twisted riff. The tempo is quick and the rhythms are tight. Yael provides a lovely melody and harmonies. At 1:45 we have an instrumental break, led at first by guitar, then harmonized with synth. James alternates between guitar and keyboard leads with ease, in addition to the moving bass line that locks in perfectly with Petrover’s masterful drumming. This one has a slightly jazz-fusion feel. This is a light and energetic opener, with plenty of musical razzle-dazzle. The closing licks in particular are quite impressive. Wonderful track!
Track 2 - Hard as Diamonds
We have a melodic 6-8 opening with guitar bends. Yael begins on vocals soon after with mainly bass, drums, and electric piano backing. Synth fills punctuate the vocals. This one gives off traveling vibes to me, and the instrumental melodies have a middle-eastern flavor to them. As does the guitar break at around the 4 minute point. There are a few odd-meter measures thrown in to keep it interesting. Cool track!
Track 3 - The Dimented Third
I believe that this was to be the album’s title initially, but it got changed due a misunderstanding, after she said “I‘ve Started…” in an interview and it was mistaken for the album title. This one has a funky shuffle and features the drums prominently in the intro. There are some awesome transitional runs at around 45 seconds. I believe this one is an instrumental. There are some sustained chords and a bass solo in the middle with no drums. Sizi takes a flute solo in this one as well, showing that there are few limits to her talents. After around 3 minutes, the opening groove returns, with Petrover taking a solo on the drums. What a great track to show just how deep Suzi James' talents are, but in a very listenable and enjoyable package.
Track 4 - On the Street Today.
Sharon kicks off the tune with a killer drum fill, then the rest of the parts jump in with a meter of 7. Yael begins singing after about 20 seconds. She has a light, but not too light, lyrical quality to her voice. There is a refrain, followed by a guitar solo. Suzi has the ability to be flashy, but she shows restraint on part of the solo, before getting more complex in the later part of the solo. Another verse and chorus follows. A very engaging, if short track.
Track 5 - Someone
Sharon plays a tribal style beat while Suzi plays some slightly dissonant guitar lines. There is a nice run at about the 27 second point, then the beat changes to a quick tempo. There are meter-shifts aplenty as we turn-around out of the refrain to the second verse; well done! It happens again on the next round as we lead up to the instrumental break. Portions of the break remind me of Allman Brothers style guitar harmonies. After the very proggy instrumental section, another refrain follows, then another verse. There is another instrumental segment with the Allman style guitars as the song reaches its conclusion. Excellent track!
Track 6 - The Dance of the Ghillie Dhu
I have no idea what a “Ghillie Dhu” is, nor how it dances, but I can’t wait to find out! A drum fill leads us to a 6-8 beat with modal guitar parts. She also makes nice use of harmonics on the guitar parts. When Yael enters, she begins to tell us the story: “The Ghillie Dhu lives deep in the forest…” I decided to do a modicum of research and found that a “Ghillie Dhu” is, according to Wikipedia:
“...a solitary male fairy described in Scottish folklore. He was said to be dark-haired, and clothed in leaves and moss, from which the ghillie suit got its name. He appears primarily in accounts from the late 18th century, living in a birch wood in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. He was said to fiercely protect the forest from outsiders, but with accounts of him treating children with kindness.”
OK, so, there we go. The instrumentation on this one is interesting, with Suzi James incorporating folky string instruments in cooperation with the guitar. The instrumental break is fantastic! Following the break, the tempo becomes less-strident and the sound becomes more dreamy. This song has a Celtic-Folk-Rock vibe, as one might expect, given the subject matter. Wonderful song!
Track 7 - There Are No Words
This one begins with a bit of a jazz fusion vibe, at a moderately slow tempo. Guitar takes the lead, with electric piano, bass & drums backing it. The electric piano alternates with guitar for the spotlight, before returning to the main theme. The groove changes at around 2 minutes, with shifting meters. Her fusion playing reminds me of the late great guitar virtuoso Allan Holdsworth, smooth and fluid legato runs with nice use of the whammy bar. This has turned out to be an instrumental track. An excellently executed jazz fusion style piece.
Track 8 - Everything and Nothing
Piano initiates this one with bass, and the vocals soon join. This is a ballad with many seeming contradictions in the lyrics. James uses the flute in this one as well. This one has a prog-folk feel to it. She plays a short electric guitar solo between the verse and the bridge. Most of the accompaniment is on the keys, bass and drums. Another guitar solo happens after the bridge leading back to a verse. This is a nice melodic song with interesting lyrics. It's a good track, but not my favorite one on the album.
Track 9 - Theme for an Imaginary Cop Show
The title seems to take some cues from the Jack Bruce song made famous by Mountain "Theme for an Imaginary Western”. Let's see if it takes stylistic cues too. Nope, it has an upbeat fusion feel. After a complex intro, the beat gets very funky. The guitar takes the melody on top of a tight rhythm section. True to its title, it does sound like it could be theme music from a 70s cop show. It is an instrumental. Electric piano gets the spotlight about ⅔ of the way through, then the guitar takes back over. Her guitar style in this one has a more precision, picked feel. She can’t be pigeonholed into any one style of playing, it seems. Super-cool track.
Track 10 - Tears of the Gods
This is the longest track on the album at a bit over 10 minutes in length. A guitar-like instrument plays a melody with ominous backing to start us off. Just before one minute, Yael joins on vocals. On the second verse, she adds harmonies on alternate phrases. Flute also adds some flourishes, then an interesting blend of sounds plays the melody. At around 3 minutes, a tribal drumbeat joins, and electric guitar becomes the primary instrument. This one has a very middle eastern flavor. The vocals start to overlap on each other, intentionally for a great effect. The instrumental break features a guitar solo, then a synth solo. Following the break the tempo increases for a bridge section. This is killer prog, probably my favorite track on the album, as there are lots of great melodies and feel-changes. At around 8:30 we get another great guitar solo. Guitar harmonies start to bring us to the conclusion. Fantastic mini-epic prog!!
What a great way to close it out!
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:
My biggest takeaway is that Suzi James is a monster multi-instrumental talent! Everything she plays is at a high skill-level. Additionally, she is a bit of an inspiration to me as someone who is eyeing retirement after a long career (still a few years to go). Next, Sharon Petrover is an unsung talent on the drums who handles multiple meter changes with ease and can play well in the many styles shown on the album. Last but not least, Yael Shotts has an absolutely beautiful and sometimes haunting voice that begs to be heard. The songwriting on the album showcases the members’ talents very well without degenerating into self-indulgent showboating. I highly recommend checking this album out if you want to have an eclectic listening experience with a high level of musicianship with an abundance of twists and turns. There was only one track that I didn’t enjoy as much, and that is “Everything and Nothing”, although it was still a pretty good song with interesting lyrics, it just didn’t blow me away like the others. I’ll give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars! See the links for listening, below. Thanks!
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Be sure to check out the “LINKS FOR LISTENING” below.
Prog On!
Scott
EDIT:
Jeremy Shotts sent the following clarification:
Hi Scott! Terrific review! Well deserved high praise for all participants! Proud to have been in at the beginning!
)LINKS FOR LISTENING:
As this is a pre-release review, only one song is available to listen to at this point:
“One by One”
https://youtu.be/gsFGb9md7i0
It can be heard on their Bandcamp page as well, where you can pre-order the album, as well as their earlier two albums.
https://fearfulsymmetry.bandcamp.com/
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