THE LONG DIVISION (2012) Compact Disk in 6-panel “eco-wallet”.

“You’re Fooling Yourselves!”, wails 3RDegree lead singer/keyboardist George Dobbs on the band’s lead-off single from the new CD THE LONG DIVISION-their first since 2008. This song-as well as a few others on the first half of the album-flesh out the band’s 2012 political treatise: that America’s political parties (and probably those in other countries) have long divided it’s populous on the basis of color, salary, sex, age and much else, have played on their fears, and have used their accumulated powers to build up largesse to keep their supporters in the fold. Ok, it’s not always that heavy, but the album was penned in the shadow of the 2008 economic collapse that was happening right as 3RDegree were releasing their first album in 12 years: NARROW-CASTER. While that third album was a combination of fresh songs and resurrected ideas from the period just before the band’s original breakup in 1997, THE LONG DIVISION is in the shared vintage of Tea Parties, Occupy Movements, shovel-ready jobs and banks and car companies “too big to fail”. So while NARROW-CASTER felt more like a “comeback” album, THE LONG DIVISION is possibly a more impressive feat for the band: a fresh helping of tracks illustrating the band’s 20 year old formula need not be tinkered with for any perceived audiences’ expectations.

Accolades:

Top 20 Album of 2012 -Progarchives.com

#54 Album of 2012 -The Gagliarchives

#9 Song (“You’re Fooling Yourselves”) & #29 Album of 2012 -DPRP.net

Top 10 Album of 2012 -NewEars.org

Top 10 Album of 2012 -Fire Of Unknown Origin (blog)

1. You’re Fooling Yourselves (6:51)

2. Exit Strategy (5:44)

3. The Socio-Economic Petri Dish (6:51)

4. Incoherent Ramblings (7:44)

5. The Ones To Follow (3:12)

6. A Work Of Art (2:50)