Coming from the odd place of having listened to Peter Hammill‘s solo work first, I continually found myself feeling Pawn Hearts lacked the immediate, intense insanity of the wild The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage. I feel much of Pawn Hearts meanders in a way typical of progressive rock that I don’t personally care for. It’s like it’s trying to find its direction instead of mapping its way beforehand.

The mild space rock inflections of “Lemmings (Including Cog)” is the definite highlight, with the “A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers” suite displaying those direction issues I spoke of earlier. The parts shift so suddenly and dramatically that no segment leaves an impression that lasts once the next begins.