Artist: Downes Braide Association
Album: Live in England DBA
Label: Magical Thinker Records
Release Date: 1.31.20 94
Relatively intimate and smoky, with tendrils of icicle lights crawling across the walls like softly incandescent ivy, Trading Boundaries in East Sussex, England, played host in 2018 to the first-ever live performance of DBA. The low ceilings made the choice of venue a curious one, given the group’s penchant for majestic epics, such as the immersive and oceanic concert intro “Prelude/Skycraper Souls,” with its labyrinthian, multi-part dynamics, affecting mood swings and soaring drama. A giant cliff overlooking a roiling sea or an expansive field underneath a canopy of stars might have been more appropriate.
Up to that point, the melodic, progressive-rock project with the full name of Downes Braide Association was solely a studio diversion for Geoffrey Downes, famed for his keyboard wizardry with Yes, Asia and The Buggles, and Christopher Braide, whose songwriting abilities have been put to good use by the likes of Lana Del Ray, Sia, Christina Aguilera and Beyonce. Three albums into their hermetical existence, DBA finally faced its public, and the two CD/DVD Live in England DBA—the cover graced by a verdant, fiery Roger Dean painting—captures the triumphant occasion in sumptuous sound and visuals.
Backed by a screen showing waves and waterfalls, fighter planes and clocks, among other images, in a close environment that actually serves them well, Downes, Braide, guitarist Dave Colquhoun, bassist Andy Hodge and narrator Barney Ashton-Bullock summon dreamy sonic floods, such as “Lighthouse” and the lush, swollen pop fjord “Suburban Ghosts,” the spacious, captivating title track of their second LP. Here, “Suburban Ghosts” is rendered with stunning beauty, with Braide’s expressive vocals full of emotion, obvious intelligence, humanity and clarity, as they are throughout the performance. Pulsating and somewhat quirky, “Machinery of Fate” is a ticking time bomb of modern anxiety, much like the swirling “Angel on Your Shoulder” and its contemplation of religious questions. DBA isn’t afraid of tackling deep subjects.
Taking a solo turn, Downes revisits Asia’s “Bolero” and The Buggles’ delirious smash hit “Video Killed The Radio Star” in a medley of flowing synthesizers and piano, his wistful deconstruction of the latter almost unrecognizable and yet utterly spellbinding. Big Big Train’s David Longdon duets with Braide on lovely “Tomorrow” that feels like a philosophical talk between old friends, with Longdon adding butterfly flourishes of flute. Fluid electric guitar solos from Colquhoun and undulating bass lines from Hodge are everywhere, elegantly swimming with the musical tides. And in a heartfelt tribute to the late John Wetton, Downes’ old Asia bandmate, DBA delivers faithful readings of “Heat of the Moment” and “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes” near the end that are as plaintive and moving as the originals. What a night this was.
—Peter Lindblad
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