FEAR

Delivering a political album is always risky, with the possibility that it will get locked in its historical era usually a direct consequence. On their 18th album, prog rockers Marillion don't seem to care, and they have nothing to lose and no one to account to but themselves. FEAR is an acronym for "Fuck Everybody and Run." Two of its three lengthy, multi-part suites ("El Dorado" and "The New Kings") are overtly political statements that look at England and the calamitous state of the world not only observationally but experientially. Topical songs have been part of the band's catalog as far back as 1984's "Fugazi," and have shown up as recently as the multi-part "Gaza," from 2012's Sounds That Can't Be Made (the latter was perhaps an impetus for this record). The centerpiece, "The Leavers," is an inside view of life on the road, the strain it places on relationships, and how tenuous one's connection to the world can become as a result. There are also three independent tracks that evo