Scott's Song by Song #78: Long Earth - Towards the Sky

 

Welcome to issue #78 of Scott’s Song By Song (#scottssongbysong). For more information about this series, click here: 

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Today I’ll be checking out the fourth album from the Scottish prog band “Long Earth”.  I am not familiar with their music at all prior to this.  The band first formed in 2016 around the keyboardist Mike Baxter.  The band chose their name based on the science-fiction book series of the same name by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.  Guitarist Renaldo McKim joined as the first album called “The Source” was being recorded, to be released in 2017. The second album, called “Once Around the Sun” (2020) has been widely acclaimed and features a 33 minute epic suite. The third album came in 2024, “An Ordinary Life”, and saw the arrival of bassist David McLachlan.   After the release of that album the band then added vocalist Maaike Siegerist and drummer Kenny McCabe. This line up played a well-received set at the 2025 Soundle Festival.  That brings us to this new album, recently released on June 27, 2026, titled “Towards the Sky”.

In a literal sense, as the title implies, the theme of the album is space exploration; from Galileo’s first telescope, to modern billionaires building their own spaceships to go into space.  Metaphorically, however, the ideas are about humankind pushing beyond our limits in a cultural, technological, political and natural manner.  

This album comes courtesy of Anne-Claire Rallo of Bad Dog Promotions, but as always, I receive no additional compensation, and I call it like I hear it.  As usual, this is a cold listen.

Without further ado, let's start listening!

Track 1 - Seahorses (7:43)

The track begins with a high-energy, moderately fast keyboard based riff, with full-band accompaniment.  It really feels like being on a journey through space.  Just before the 2-minute mark, Maaike Siegerist begins singing in a high, clear voice. At around 2:45 there is a half time bridge.  The original tempo returns for the next verse.  Nice harmonies join in.  The instrumentalists provide a wonderful soundscape for her ethereal voice.  At around the 5 minute mark, they return to an instrumental section that echoes the intro before coming back to half-time as her vocals return.  Another instrumental segment brings us to the close of the song.  Terrific opening track!

Track 2 - Breathless (6:38)

Mike Baxter’s keyboards start us off here with a slightly slower tempo and more laid back feel.  The first verse continues that feel, before turning heavier in the chorus.  This reminds me of bands like Within Temptation or Panic Room.  At 3:00, the whole vibe changes for a brief instrumental segment.  Renaldo McKim takes a melodic guitar solo following the next verse.  Kenny McCabe has some nice drum fills, and David McLachlan is solid on the bass.  McKim takes another guitar solo as the song reaches its conclusion.  Awesome song!

Track 3 - Artificial Child (5:29)

This begins with a clean-high pitched arpeggio pattern on the guitar, which leads in the breezy rhythm section.  This is a very easy-going song, this far.  The topic is AI, which has been a recurring theme in recent albums.  The rhythm becomes subtle in the bridge, then the tonality turns to a menacing minor key.    I believe the song represents both the positive and negative aspects of AI.  We return to the original major key before it comes to a close.  Pretty good song.  

Track 4 - Wanderlust (5:20)

You know it must be a prog album when the shortest track is nearly five-and-a-half minutes long.  This begins with a combination of clean electric and acoustic guitars.  The band then kicks in with a synth solo on the top.  A verse follows.  I am actually picking up a little bit of late 80s alt-rock, a-la Edie Brickell and New Bohemians.  At 2:45, Baxter takes a keyboard break along the lines of Dennis DeYoung of Styx.  There are nice melodies throughout.  McKim takes a guitar solo before another chorus.  This is a good, catchy melodic song with great production.

Track 5 - Colours (8:18)

A clean electric guitar with a lot of delay commences this longer track.  Bass and drums join in with some light synth.  The tempo is moderately slow.  Siegerist’s vocals are front and center.  At 3:20 or so McKim establishes an odd meter guitar riff and things pick up.  I believe we are in 7-4,  The groove changes when the synth takes over around 4:15.  I am loving this instrumental break.  McCabe has some great drum fills along the way.  This one is really bringing the prog!  Siegerist returns with the slow tempo following the break. I like the contrast between the instrumental break and the vocal sections.  Excellent track!

Track 6 - Monochrome (6:11)

This one kicks right in with a heavy “Kashmir” influenced riff.  That is followed by brain-teasing odd-metered rhythms.  I am enjoying the heavy riffs and odd-meters in this.  There is a great, spacy middle instrumental bit with lots of panning synth tones over a tribal drumbeat.  I like the line “I hang in the balance, and so do you”  that brings us back to the Kashmir style riff.  There are terrific overlapping vocal parts from Siegerist near the end.  Fantastic track!

Track 7 - First Casualty (9:42)

This is the second longest song on the album.  It begins with an appropriately spacy sound with a solid drumbeat and clean guitar on the top.  They then bring it down to a funky fusion beat before the vocals begin.  I love the big open sounding major seventh chords at around 1:45.  There is some acoustic piano before the second verse.  Just before 4 minutes, McKim takes the spotlight on the guitar.  I like McLachlan’s bass line on this track.  At around 6 minutes, the opening riff returns.  I am wondering if they used mellotrons on this.  Siegerist sings some lovely wordless “ahhs” in this section.  McKim takes back over on guitar soon after.  Excellent harmonized guitar lines begin just before the 8-minute mark.  Near the ending there are helicopter and emergency vehicle sound effects.  A very engaging track that I really enjoyed; well-done!

Track 8 - Moon and Mars (5:54)  

Clean arpeggiated guitar lines and Siegerist’s beautiful vocals start us off here.  This gives off a vibe similar to Panic Room’s "Satellite".  This seems to be about a boy’s ambition to become an astronaut.  A melodic guitar solo from McKim follows.  Baxter’s keyboards provide the foundation for the soundscape.  Following a long sustained note from Siegerist , there is a fingerstyle acoustic bit that closes out the song.  Wonderful track!

Track 9 - The Astronomer (11:20)

And that brings us to the “closing epic”!   A blend of acoustic and clean electric guitars start it off.  This one also has a moderately slow tempo and a wistful feel in the vocals.  This is a wonderful headphone album as Baxter’s synth stylings wash over you.  A quiet instrumental section takes over at around 4:30, mainly with layered guitar parts.  I am picking up some Steve Howe influence here.  This must be a mellotron that joins in around 6 minutes.  I love the sound.  The drums have been completely absent from this section. They return at just before 7:30.  This is a peaceful, yet engaging track.  Things build up a bit as McKim takes another melodic lead guitar solo at around 8:15.  We are in a 6-8 meter, here.  They build up more as the keys and harmony wordless vocals enter.  McKim finally stops holding back on the guitar thereafter, and it's simply glorious!  This is a big finish to the album before it begins to fade out to conclude the festivities.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

I really enjoyed that!  If you are looking for dazzling, intricate instrumental lines with constantly shifting meters, this isn’t the album for you.  However, if you appreciate beautiful melodies sung wonderfully and instrumental soundscapes that paint a picture, then you must check this album out.  I enjoyed all of the tracks, with only tracks 3 and 4 being slightly weaker.  This is an easy 4.5 out of 5 stars (90%), and a wonderful way to spend 66 minutes.  Highly recommended!  I need to go back and check out the first three albums.

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Prog On!

Scott

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LINKS FOR LISTENING/Buying:

There is a music video for “Breathless” here: 

https://youtu.be/Era9BKcuec8?list=RDEra9BKcuec8

You can listen to it and purchase the album on their Bandcamp page:

https://longearth.bandcamp.com/album/towards-the-sky