Wang Chung's Jack Hues found renewal by delving back into progressive rock influences, particularly Robert Wyatt, Radiohead, and Talk Talk, aiming to recreate their music on a regular basis, which eventually grew monotonous for him.
In 2022, Jack Hues, the former vocalist-guitarist of the 1980s new wave band Wang Chung, released a significant album with The Quartet - Epigonal Quark. This album marks a creative reinvention for Hues, as it ventures into the prog-jazz and progressive rock territory.
Epigonal Quark is a live album, recorded during performances, and features covers of influential artists such as Robert Wyatt, Radiohead, Talk Talk, and Soft Machine. The album also includes one original instrumental piece titled Non-Locality In A Sea Of Electrons.
The phrase "Epigonal Quark" was inspired by a term used to describe something fleeting and flimsy. However, the album is far from that. It showcases a fusion of prog, jazz, and experimental rock characteristics, developed with The Quartet, a collective involving members of Syd Arthur and avant-jazz group Led Bib.
One of the covered songs on the album is Robert Wyatt's Sea Song, which Hues finds inspiring due to Wyatt's successful career as a solo artist without compromising. Hues's version of Radiohead's Weird Fishes/Arpeggi is closer to his interpretation of jazz than Thelonious Monk's style. As a tribute to Mark Hollis, who passed away a few days after Hues bought Laughing Stock on vinyl, he chose to cover Talk Talk's Myrrhman.
The album's title track, Non-Locality In A Sea Of Electrons, is a standalone piece on Epigonal Quark. It builds on the chemistry and energy of live performances and showcases Hues’s continued evolution as an artist within the Canterbury prog scene.
During their US tour, Wang Chung incorporated prog jams and mad time signatures into their performances of To Live And Die In LA. This exploratory approach to live music contrasts with Hues's experience in the 80s with Wang Chung. This spirit of exploration is also evident in Dave Schultz's keyboard solos during performances, which connected with the audience in a unique way.
The collective debuted with a dazzling extended take on Beck's Nobody's Fault But My Own. Jack Hues sang a few songs on Epigonal Quark, previously an instrumental album by The Quartet. The album represents Hues's artistic transformation by bridging classic prog influences with contemporary jazz and rock interpretations, underscoring both his respect for the genre's traditions and his innovative contributions to it.
In summary, Epigonal Quark is a testament to Jack Hues's artistic growth and his willingness to explore and reinterpret seminal progressive music influences while adding his own compositional voice. It further cements Hues’s status as a creative figure within the Canterbury prog scene, demonstrating his continued evolution as an artist.
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