Some things take time to mature… as Credo demonstrate with their first new studio album since 2011. 15 years is a long time for a new release but then again Credo have never been a prolific band. Formed in 1992 by two Scots in Southern England, Tim Birrell and Jim Murdoch, as ‘Ad Hoc’ (and briefly ‘Chequered Past’) with keyboardist Mick Stovold and vocalist Mark Colton, they settled on the name ‘Credo’ in 1993. Largely inspired by classic melodic progressive bands, Credo released three studio albums between 1994 and 2011, with Mike Varty taking over on the keyboards after their debut album Field of Vision and Gerald Mulligan later joining on drums. They have appeared on the Prog Festival live circuit since then, but personal reasons delayed their new album considerably.
Here we are with Credo’s new double album in We the Disconnected … was it worth the wait?
Well, it could be argued that We the Disconnected would not be the achievement it is without that 15-year gap. Always a talented band, it does feel that musically Credo have stepped up on to a whole new level with this new release, such is the excellence of their musicianship and composition. Alongside that growing maturity, it does feel that the emotions and insights which are imbued into every note of We the Disconnected are informed by a lifetime of experience. Vocalist Mark Colton is responsible for the vast majority of the lyrics, and it is clear that he has a lot to say about his life and the modern world. Credo themselves describe these songs as: ‘deeply personal reflections of angry not-so-young men on our place in an ever-changing, and increasingly baffling world’. Credo have distilled those feelings and observations into a remarkable musical document with incisive perspectives on modern life.
Credo unveil this album with a grand overture-like opening in Losing My Reason with a dramatic keys and guitars fanfare. Mike Varty’s keys take on the melody laid out by guitarist Tim Birrell, and the whole band rolls onwards. Let’s get the early Marillion comparisons out of the way straightaway, particularly in the context that vocalist Mark Colton regularly performs with Marillion tribute band ‘Market Square Heroes’. There are clear and distinct echoes of early Marillion, but Credo do it so well and add their own twist. They are not mere clones of that Aylesbury band, and have developed their own style, even if the roots are clear.
Credo do display brutal honesty in their lyrics, and it really feels as if they feel compelled to cast light upon important and impactful issues. In this opening piece Colton speaks bitterly about the experience of so many employees who are exploited and discarded without compunction by businesses solely driven by profit and self-seeking ambition… the exhausted and discarded are simply replaced with younger and cheaper replacement ‘fodder’ staff which Colton graphically describes as ‘the Somme for the Gens X and Z, as over the top they go into burnout, mental illness, suicide or other life changing outcomes’.
This theme is powerful in impact and Credo do it justice in this gripping opening piece with fluid keyboards and expressive guitars over Mulligan’s excellent rolling drums. Colton’s vocals become increasingly desperate and angry – ‘I’m trying so fucking hard!’. The cascading finale feels like the loss of reason and control felt by the ‘fodder’ as this piece careers dramatically to the end. This dramatic, excellent opening number certainly grabs attention immediately.
Table for One is about the ‘Prozac Generation’, inspired by Colton’s previous work life on the road checking into multiple soulless hotels and chasing after success with unrealistic ambitions fuelled by social media. A distorted opening merges into subdued chiming guitars and vocals. The stately progression and almost somnolent vocal tones may reflect Prozac’s numbing effects. A twitchy tense break with stabbing chords and piano notes signals a more angst driven, paranoid feeling. Colton intones ‘Can’t fight that feeling anymore’ and Varty blasts out great organ chords and the whole band crash in with Birrell laying down some spiky guitar. Varty and Birrell intertwine intuitively, as they do all album, with the Murdoch and Mulligan rhythm section underpinning it all. Suddenly it all drops away more reflectively with Colton and Varty reflecting in a simple vocal and piano section, reminiscent of Fish’s voice and confessional lyrical approach. The main theme returns forcefully with the band, with images of ecstasy and ‘the needle’, suggesting these actors are permanently trapped in this scene.
Bassist Jim Murdoch provides the lyrics for the first verse of the dark Columbine-inspired Tell us Why, a lament for the insanity of the worship of the gun over the lives of children. Colton later twists the nonsensical claims by gun nuts that ‘Guns don’t kill people, people kill people’… which Credo tellingly twists into the repeated sing-song refrain ‘people kill people much better with guns…’. This impassioned piece is filled with anger lyrically, but the main musical feeling is of grief. Mark and his band are brave in focusing on this appalling subject. The plethora of mass shootings in America is a tragic self-destructive stain on the soul of that nation… and perhaps they should listen to this song, but will they ever listen to anything but their own prejudices and sickly twisted logic?
One of the main centrepieces of We the Disconnected is the epic Flowers by the Roadside, inspired by those sad floral tributes we all see on roads on which we travel, indicating a tragic event… but which most of us drive by obliviously or do not care. Colton portrays a picture of endless traffic monotony occasionally punctuated by the colour of a floral remembrance, and the realisation that each bunch of dying flowers or fading cuddly toy indicates enormous pain and grief. Colton’s fragile voice over a soft piano immediately evokes the tragic melancholy. This extended intro fades into sinister synths before the band, particularly Murdoch’s bass line, establish a steady metronomic beat, perhaps suggesting the rhythm of the ‘cat’s eyes’ flashing by on the road as you drive. The tempo rises as the vocals become increasingly intense and a police radio can be heard in the background. A softer but more distant vocal expresses the loss, before Colton cries his bleak refrain repeatedly ‘The Gates to Hell’. A stuttering break then erupts into tortured and twisting guitar and keyboard passages possibly portraying the mayhem of traffic accidents, and their effect on victims. Chiming guitars and softer vocals give another perspective with harmony vocals ‘praying for redemption, hoping, begging for release…’ Mike Varty excels with a flowing, elegiac keyboard solo. The song descends into an off-kilter section after ‘Opening the Gates to Hell…’ An impassioned but bitter final section points out the futility of such tributes which just fade, wilt and die but the insanity of traffic mayhem will continue. Flowers by the Roadside is an outstanding, emotional and meaningful piece both lyrically and musically, simultaneously recognizing the grief of those that are left after traffic fatalities, and the angry reflection about the waste of life and pointlessness of such tributes… I certainly won’t look at those sadly wilting bunches of flowers in the same way when I next pass one.
Credo next turn their spotlight on the seedy, corrupt world of politics in Fool’s Paradise. A rumbling appropriately distorted synth plunges us into this dank world before a pompous fanfare of guitars possibly evokes the pomp of Westminster or Washington (insert political centre of your choosing!). A strangely funky section follows with Colton repeatedly snarling ‘Fooled you again…’ – his lyrics are of a high quality, conveying his message clearly but with a real sense of emotion and poetry. Flute sounds introduce a more reflective section with Colton speculating ‘where is the hope…’. A tricksy sounding key section sends us back to Fool’s Paradise and recapitulation of the same ear worm theme. In the final section Colton parrots phrases more usually associated with the obvious Orange faced idiotic leader before Varty and Birrell take the lead. Credo do give us some hope at the end as Colton calls ‘Break down the Wall, Together we stand, divided we Fall, Stand for Freedom…’ This clarion call of positivity and hope is much needed before they fade into dissonance with Colton lamenting ‘So many Lies’. Almost as a palate cleanser the jazzy instrumental Bonkeraria follows… increasingly more frantic and… well bonkers… but whilst this was probably fun to create, I am not sure what it adds to the album?
As we approach the end of this double album Credo take us on a tremendous rock carousel in Round and Round with a suitably carnival keyboard carried on a great bass line by Murdoch. Colton’s lyrics delve deep into corruption, drug addiction and urban deprivation with a bleak vision of modern Britain. The bass continues to rumble darkly but Varty and Birrell take up the main theme stridently. The circular nature of the melody suggests the futility of going round and round with no progress. The main section is repeated frequently, and one does start to wonder whether they can sustain this cycle. However, a flowing guitar passage breaks the cycle and takes us into a quieter section with a subtle bluesy organ sadly painting a picture of drug addicted young woman tragically taking her own life – this is bleak stuff… ‘Hope is fading, her Heartbeat’s fading…’ as the drum beat fades away. The main strident theme breaks back in… and to be honest it’s at this stage when one wonders whether Credo may be over stretching this repetitive depressing carousel? The message was pretty well clear by the end of the poor woman’s heartbeats and the coda seems a little bit overkill. Nevertheless, Round and Round is undoubtedly a remarkably brave, insightful and moving song tackling tragic subject matter.
Credo bring us to the end of this ambitious musical journey with Left or Right, commencing with muted vocals and keyboards. Colton has shared this insight into this dark conclusion to the album:
‘21st Century Britain, cocaine rife in parliament, Ice Cream vans selling drugs outside the school gates, a generation who haven’t slept without being anaesthetised by alcohol or weed for years. Machine guns on the streets, gang stabbings, politicians murdered, and teachers killed, ambulance, police and firefighters stoned by gangs as they try to help. Fire regulations in Tower Blocks ignored and investigations hindered by the guilty to protect themselves. Where fear is stoked by politicians bribed by donations who are just trying to build their own careers. It feels that is what we have now.
But every so often you get reminded of how beautiful the simplest interaction with nature or other people can be.’
Credo portray this initially bleak vision with spiralling synths and guitars, driven along relentlessly by Mulligan’s fluid drums. Colton’s lyrics outline the choices that can be made amidst this turmoil, whilst the music swirls around him evocatively. This depressing parade develops a more hopeful orchestral tone later with Birrell strafing the main theme with electric guitar and Varty weaving keyboard melodies. As the musical clouds open with some light piercing through Colton hopefully pleas ‘Taste it, Sense it, Feel it’ and an electric piano gently fades away… quite an ending to quite an album.
After 15 years Credo have returned with an outstanding album filled with engaging melodies and killer hooks, carrying deeply personal and insightful lyrics. We The Disconnected clearly means so much to these artists and that great depth of feeling is passionately and skilfully conveyed in a series of high-quality songs played with great musical skill. Credo truly believed in themselves for this excellent album and have certainly reconnected with the modern progressive scene with one of the most meaningful and impactful albums of 2026.
TRACK LISTING
01. Losing My Reason (9:59)
02. Table for One (8:29)
03. Tell us Why (7:41)
04. Flowers by the Roadside (15:02)
05. Fool’s Paradise (11:42)
06. Bonkeraria (6:10)
07. Round and Round (12:26)
08. Left or Right (10:00)
Total Time – 81:45
MUSICIANS
Nark Colton – Vocals
Tim Birrell – Guitars
Mike Varty – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Jim Murdoch – Bass, Backing Vocals
Gerald Mulligan – Drums, Percussion
~ With:
Lawrence Colton – Additional Backing Vocals
Sam Collins – Additional Backing Vocals
Claire Kennedy – Flute (5)
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Gargoyle Records
Country of Origin: UK
Date of Release: 23rd October 2026
DISCOGRAPHY
– Field Of Vision (1994)
– Rhetoric (1999)
– This Is What We Do – Live In Poland (2009)
– We The Disconnected (2026)
LINKS
Credo – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | X | Instagram
