Steve Morse has spent five decades moving restlessly between ideas, genres, and entire eras of rock history. From the genre-bending Dixie Dregs — earning multiple Grammy nominations — to the long-serving Steve Morse Band, through Kansas and nearly three decades with Deep Purple, he has always been a player in motion. “Triangulation” feels like a summation of that journey: rooted in melody, rich in technique, and endlessly curious.
He’s joined once again by trusted allies Dave LaRue (bass) and Van Romaine (drums), a rhythm section who know his instincts so well they feel built into the architecture of these songs. That connection is obvious from the opening “Break Through,” which manages to be groovy, bluesy, funky and then suddenly proggy — all within half a minute. It’s a perfect overture to the album.
“Off the Cuff” carries a real sense of fun, the feeling that absolutely anything can happen, and often does. That playful spontaneity is one of the album’s great strengths: nothing feels overworked, everything feels alive.
Then comes “TexUS,” featuring Eric Johnson, where a little boogie is inevitable — and Johnson’s contribution is exactly as majestic as you’d hope. His tone glides across Morse’s lines with absolute elegance.
“The Unexpected” does what it says on the tin, but “March of the Nomads,” with Scott Sim, is where the album’s Celtic and windswept colours begin to fully bloom. Exquisitely done and calming at first, it builds into something rugged and evocative.
LaRue’s bass anchors “Ice Breaker,” giving the piece its pulse and allowing Morse to weave and dance around it. It’s one of the most grounded and muscular moments on the record.
Every Morse album tends to have a true centrepiece, and here it’s “Tumeni Partz,” the longest, most involved composition on “Triangulation.” It’s a journey — progressive, exploratory, and a neat distillation of what the entire record reaches toward.
The title track “Triangulation,” with John Petrucci, is more strident, a little heavier, and infused with Petrucci’s unmistakable progressive-metal bite. Two virtuosos, zero ego, total synergy.
And closing piece “Taken by an Angel,” featuring Kevin Morse, returns to that Celtic-tinged openness. If earlier moments hinted at that rugged, windswept spirit, this one makes it explicit. A father-and-son performance that is intimate, emotional, and quietly grand.
“Triangulation” is Steve Morse doing what he has always done: exploring, refining, pushing forward. A lifetime of musical invention, distilled into a record that feels both expansive and warmly human.
8.5/10
