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There’s an important prerequisite for readers of this post: you must have a Good Sense Of Humour. You will need to take track titles such as Stroboscopic Fennel, Bach Stabber and Stupid Pop Song in your stride if you are going to enjoy this latest collection of prog/fusion pieces from Trifecta.

We met Trifecta in these pages not so long ago. In my February review, I described their Fragments album of 2021 as a blend of progressive rock, funk and jazz fusion reminiscent of Herbie Hancock or Chick Corea. The same goes for their latest album release, The New Normal, but this time we need to add pop music and poetry to that adjectival list. (Well, ‘poetry’ might be stretching a point, but ‘verse’ definitely covers it.)

The album kicks off with a straightforward prog track called Beck and Call. This is followed by Dot Are You Wooing, a short string bass interlude in jazzy style, and then we hear the first humorous song. Stroboscopic Fennel tells the story of a strange, light-emitting plant in the songwriter’s fridge that has the scientists mightily puzzled. But it was track 5, Sibling Rivalry, that had me grinning from ear to ear. Plug in your joke appreciation attachment and listen to two brothers in a rather one-sided conversation:

There! That cheered you up, didn’t it?

When it comes to track 9, Trifecta take us into earworm territory. This is just another Stupid Pop Song. It burrows into the brain where it rambles round and round and round. It has you smiling, tapping your feet … and fervently wishing it would stop. Listen, if you dare:

Halfway through the album, and Trifecta are ready for some naughtiness. They take us on a Crime Spree, introduce us to a Bach Stabber and tell us a tale of an unreformed Kleptocrat. Don’t tell anyone, but I rather like that kleptocrat – she has a charisma that’s hard to resist.

Of the other 7 tracks, there’s one that’s far too silly to be either funny or listenable, a couple of rather nice songs and four pieces of the Trifecta trademark prog/fusion sound. Here’s the closing offering to round off the collection.

Overall, then, one dud among the 19 tracks makes for a fine 4* plus rating here at Crotchety studios.