REVIEW: FOCUS- FOCUS 12 (2024)

Calling the opening song on “Focus 12”, “Fjord Focus” is not only a wonderful pun, but it’s also, in a way, a window into their world.

You see, when you go and watch Focus, there’s a sense of fun—a kind of tongue-in-cheek understanding that you must all be a bit mad to watch a fella play prog and blow his flute for almost three hours, and yet, they’re utterly mesmerizing.

Thijs van Leer and his merry band are all that and more here on “Focus 13.” It meanders along for a spell before turning into Deep Purple—it’s quite something.

Then, on “Bela,” the pianos tinkle in a very classical way, and there’s a lovely, gentle guitar solo. Menno Gootjes, who also co-produces the record, excels.

It almost feels redundant to call this a very musical album—one to lose yourself in more than anything, to let wash over you and immerse yourself in. “Meta Indefinita” takes you down some jazz roads, and van Leer comes to the fore with his glorious flute work on “All Aboard.” Indeed, wherever this magic bus is going, you’re along for the ride, you might say.

A collection that is built on the piano, “Born To Be You” is almost a palate cleanser, before the initially light, airy “Nura” does a very odd about-face halfway through, as if Focus is revelling in the surprise of it all.

“Bowie” sees the piano back and right in the spotlight. Undulating and cascading like a waterfall as it does, “Postiano” blows itself in on a Latin breeze. And, in honesty, this record is so warm throughout that it could accompany a siesta if you so desire, but like so many of them, it abruptly changes direction, as if they’re all reveling in the idea of shock and awe.

And as “Gaia” ends things in much the same fashion as all the others—that is to say, it does what it wants and goes where it wants, seemingly without rhyme or reason—you are left wondering how an album can pack so much into less than 40 minutes.

That, though, is the skill of bands like this. Focus does not need vocals to make their point. This time around, the music speaks for itself.

“13” is here and we are fortunate to have it.

Rating: 8.5/10